The Tale of a Broken Heart
by Michaelover101
Summary: Girl gets conned into going to Martha’s Vineyard, girl meets boy, boy meets girl, boy and girl date, boy goes to Fiji, girl goes to Yale... only broken hearts can follow. PDLD
1. Anything Is Better

**_Title:_** The Tales of a Broken Heart

**_Author:_** Michaelover101

**_Rating:_** M... just to be safe.

**_Summery:_** Girl gets conned into going to Martha's Vineyard, girl meets boy, boy meets girl, boy and girl date, boy goes to Fiji, girl goes to Yale... only broken hearts can follow. PDLD

**_Beta:_** Flynn

**_Disclaimer:_** Doesn't matter how hard I squeeze my eyes shut... Finn, Colin, Logan and Tristan do not belong to me...and unfortunately neither do any of the other GG characters.

**_Notes:_** This is set after Rory's graduation. Emily has conned Rory into going to Martha's Vineyard instead of Europe with her mother. The story will take place in different and important aspects of Rory's life at Yale... with lots of differences and more Finn!

Kassandra

_**Part 1: Anything Is Better**_

"Sliding down an unwaxed banister... in a thong." Rory said into the phone as she walked down the beach. She heard her mother laugh.

"That was a good one, getting brain freeze on a below zero day."

"Watching a Pong tournament." Rory said.

"Dating Kirk."

"Not fair."

"Why not? That's better than going to Martha's Vineyard with my mother."

"Yes, but Kirk liked you, so it's not fair that you say it. I can't date my future daddy." Rory teased.

"Okay, it happened once. Once, Rory, let it go. That ship has sailed."

"He still gets confused when I call him daddy." Rory laughed.

"He still gets confused when people start kicking him when he has a "kick me" sign on his back."

"True, true."

"I miss you, babe."

Rory smiled sadly. "I miss you too."

"I can't believe my mom did this. 'We paid for Chilton, Lorelai'; 'We're paying for Yale, Lorelai', 'We deserve one summer with our granddaughter, Lorelai'." Lorelai said doing the impressions of her mother.

"Yeah, not fair using that guilt trip on us." Rory said.

They had gone to their last Friday night dinner before their big trip, when her grandmother had started telling them about the house they had gotten for the summer and how much fun she had every year. Rory had made the mistake of saying how fun it sounded, and Emily Gilmore got a gleam in her eyes.

"Well, there's always next year," Lorelai said with a sigh

"But it was suppose to be this year," Rory said as she put down her bag and sat down on her knees and extended her towel.

"I know," Lorelai sighed. "So what are you doing now?"

"Grandma went shopping with some DAR friends and grandpa locked himself in his study, so I grabbed a book and I'm now on the beach preparing to read."

"So the usual?"

"The usual."

"God, I hate my mom for doing that, Rory."

"I know," Rory said with a sigh. "Next year."

"Yeah, call me later?"

"Yeah, later."

"Going without Luke's coffee." Lorelai said.

Rory smiled. "You really do miss me, don't you?"

"Like the sky misses the sun, babe."

"Unbelievably corny, but I'll let it pass."

"Good, love you, babe."

"Love you too, mom," Rory said as she hung up. She got out her book of the moment '_A Million Little Pieces'_ by James Frey and laid on her stomach, placing her sunglasses down on her eyes before opening her book and starting to read where she left off.

She wouldn't have minded coming to Martha's Vineyard with her grandparents, but they had known that Rory and Lorelai had had the Europe trip planned from the first time she set foot in kindergarten.

"Four!" Rory heard someone yell. She frowned and looked up from her book just in time to see a blonde guy tripping in the sand and land on her. She winced and dropped her book.

"Ow." She heard the guy said as he started to move. He got off and Rory sat up slowly, her back had broken, she thought, she was going to die. Wait, no, she heard her back crack and she winced.

"Jesus." She muttered as she stood up.

"I'm so sorry, my friend threw the Frisbee too hard and, well, they yelled 'four'."

"If this is some lame attempt to pick me up, it's not going to work, you're heavy and I think you cracked a rib. And 'four' is a golf reference, thus why I didn't move." She said stretching her back.

"Huh, my ribs don't hurt," she heard him mutter.

"Yeah, but mine do."

"I am really, really sorry; I swear this is not some lame attempt to pick you up... Mary?"

Rory frowned. 'Don't look up, don't look up." She chanted in her head, but her eyes betrayed her and she looked up. Sure enough, the same blonde hair and blue eyes that taunted her during her first year of Chilton were standing right in front of her; and without a shirt no less.

"Tristan." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Figures."

"Wow, it's really nice to see you." He said as he went to hug her. Rory backed away and they danced around each other, until they settled on an awkward hand shake. "We weren't really on hugging terms when we left, were we?"

"No, I don't think we were," she said.

"I really am sorry I fell on you, but my friends and I were really playing Frisbee, and my friend is a jackass and threw it too far."

"It's fine, I'll be sure to send you my medical bill." She teased propping her glasses on her head.

"You do that; so what are you doing here?"

"My grandparents have a house on the beach... you?"

"Hanging out with some friends, I haven't seen them in a while. Here, get your stuff and I'll introduce you."

"No, Tristan, it's fine. I was actually heading back."

"No, come on, let me make up my two years of being a jerk, I swear I'm reformed," he said with a smirk.

"DUGRAY!" Someone yelled from behind them. Tristan turned back and held up a hand. He turned back to Rory and smiled.

"So?"

"Just for a few minutes, Tristan, I really do need to head back."

"Great."

Rory sighed as she folded her towel and put it in her bag, along with her book. She stood up and put the bag on her shoulder and looked up at Tristan uncertainly. He smiled back and led her towards his three guy friends who were standing around, all without a shirt.

"So still a Mary?" He whispered.

"Why do you ask?" She asked with a glare.

"You're blushing."

She shoved him with her elbow. "You said you were reformed."

"Ah, but the old Tristan you know and love pops up every once in a while." He waved his friends over and they came jogging up to him.

"Hey," a blonde said. "Who's the girl?"

"This is supposed to be guys' summer, Tristan." A brown haired guy said with his arms over his chest.

"She's cute." The other brown haired guy said, he had an accent.

"Guys, this is Rory Gilmore, she went to Chilton with me until I got shipped off. Rory, these are my friends, Logan Huntzberger," he pointed to the blonde; "Colin McCrea," he pointed to the brown-haired guy. "And Finn Rothschild," he said pointing to the guy with the accent.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile.

"So you're the Gilmores' granddaughter?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, Emily and Richard's." She said uncomfortably.

"The prodigal grandchild." Colin said with a teasing voice.

"You're going to Yale, right?" Finn asked.

"Um, yeah, that's what the Pro/Con List said," she said shifting her feet in the sand.

"Pro/Con List?" Tristan asked.

"I made a list." She defended. "It's not that crazy of an idea. It's hard picking between Princeton, Harvard and Yale."

"All three, impressive." Finn said with a smirk. Rory blushed.

"So you made a Pro/Con List?" Tristan asked.

"Shut up, Tristan," she muttered.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm also going to Yale." Tristan said.

"That's nice, why?"

"My girlfriend," Tristan said.

"Are you serious, Tristan DuGray has a girlfriend?" Rory laughed. "Wow, I think the Earth just stopped moving." She teased, causing the other three to laugh.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "I've been dating her for almost two years. It's not that big of a deal."

"What's her name?" Rory asked curious.

"Stephanie Merdock." Tristan answered.

"She's a friend of ours," Logan said. "They met at one of those stupid social gatherings our parents plan. Tristan was home for a break in military school. They screwed each other, and, well, they've been screwing each other ever since." Logan said with a smirk.

"Hey, hey, that's no way to talk in front of a Yale woman." Tristan said covering Rory's ears. Rory pushed him away with a laugh, then felt her phone vibrating in her bag. She got out her phone and looked at the number. It was long distance. She sighed and answered.

"Hello?" No answer, as usual. "Jess?" He had called at her graduation, she had told him she had loved him and he hadn't called again. Till now. She thought she was over him. "Jess, you've got to stop." No answer.

She bit her lip hoping he'd say something, then sighed. "Look, if you're not going to say anything, then don't call." She backed away from the group a bit, wanting a bit of privacy. "I said everything I needed to say when you called at graduation, I need you to stop calling. I can't get over you if I keep expecting you to call, I don't want to expect you to call. I don't expect anything from you anymore, so just, please, stop."

She thought she heard a faint 'I'm sorry' before the dial tone hit her ear. She took the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a minute before hanging up and putting it in her bag.

"Hey, you all right? Tristan asked, coming over to her. She turned and sent him a smile.

"Fine," she replied. She looked back to her phone and sighed. "I actually have to go."

"Oh, come on now, love, you aren't going to let one silly little phone call mess up our fun." Finn said with a teasing voice. Rory sighed.

"I just really need to…": She covered her face and let the tears pass.

"Okay, you are really not all right." Tristan said bring her closer to the group. She pulled away

"I'm fine," she said wiping her tears. She felt her phone vibrating again and she sighed. She just hoped it wasn't Jess again. She looked at the caller ID and frowned, but answered.

"Didn't we just talk?" She asked.

"Is that the way you talk to the woman that gave you life?"

"Yeah," Rory said.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"You sound like you've been crying."

"Nope, no crying."

"It's Jess."

"No, it's not Jess."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, you called?"

"Right, watching five straight hours of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour."

"I thought you liked that show and I don't want to play anymore."

"I like that show, but you don't like that show."

"Mom, going to Chilton with Paris is better than coming to Martha's Vineyard with Grandma and Grandpa."

"Okay, okay, you win. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Positive"

"So what's happened in the past half hour since you hung up on mama?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing. I read, Tristan fell on me, I met his friends, then…" Rory bit her lip, then continued. "You called and that's about it."

"Tristan? Do I know him?"

"DuGray." Rory said.

"Nope."

"Blonde, blue eyes."

"Yeah, so were the Nazi storm troopers. Wanna narrow that down?"

"Went to Chilton."

"Nope, not ringing any bells."

"Called me Mary." Rory said.

"Oh my god! Bible boy fell on you."

"I think he cracked a rib."

"The irony, oh, the irony."

"Mom!"

"I mean this guy loved you in high school."

"He did not!" Rory protested.

"Honey."

"Mom."

"Oh, you are so innocent."

"Oh, shut up." Rory said with a frown and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're pouting."

"Am not!"

"Oh, you're pouting, I have won."

"You didn't win, there was nothing to win, and this conversation has gotten ridiculous!"

"All our conversations are ridiculous."

"Right."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mom, stop."

"Right, it's just, you didn't wallow."

Rory sighed. "Why didn't you make me?"

"What?" Lorelai asked. Rory could hear the confusion.

"It's just when I first broke up with Dean, you practically begged me to wallow, you put it on the list and everything."

"Yeah…"

"But with Jess… you haven't said anything."

"Well, I know you wouldn't do it just because I told you to."

"I know."

"Do you think I didn't tell you to wallow over Jess because I didn't like him?"

"Sort of."

"Rory, I hated Jess, he wasn't right for you."

"Gee, thanks."

"But you needed your Christopher, and he was it."

"You comparing my ex to dad isn't helping."

"You needed your bad boy. And Jess was it. But the wallowing thing was all you. Is that why you were crying?"

"I wasn't crying!" Rory protested.

"Sure you weren't, you don't think I know who all those calls are from."

"How did…"

"Jess is the classic guy of call and hang up. It's like a role reversal. You know how you did it to Dean and Lane did it with Dave?"

"Yeah, but we did it because we liked them."

"Yeah, and Jess still likes you, but he feels guilty for leaving you."

"Right."

"You okay now?"

"I've been okay." Rory said getting irritated.

"Okay, okay, no need to snap at mama. Go enjoy Bible boy and his friends. I'll call you later."

"Okay."

"Love you, babe."

"Love you too." Rory said hanging up and turning her phone off.

"I'm going to ask, but you have to promise not to kill me, are you all right?" Tristan asked with a smirk.

Rory sighed and glared at him. "I'm fine."

"All right."

"So we were planning on going to lunch, love, would you like to join us?" Finn asked. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, I'm good; I think I'm going to head home."

"Oh come on, Rory, come have lunch with us." Tristan said. "It'll give us time to catch up."

"Can I take a rain check? I've something I've got to do."

"We're holding you to that." Colin said.

Rory nodded. "I don't doubt that. It was really nice meeting all of you."

"Nice meeting you too." Logan said.

"And Tristan, nice seeing you again."

"Really?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Getting there."

"Good." She gave a wave and started waking down the beach, kicking the sand in front of her.

"She's cute." Finn said.

"That was your Mary?" Logan asked Tristan.

"That was my Mary, the love that will never be." Tristan said with a smirk. "I think she is the only other girl I have ever loved."

"Who's the other?" Colin asked with a smirk.

"Stephanie, and you tell her that, you die." Tristan said pushing Colin as he laughed.

"It's so nice to know you care for my cousin." Colin said with a laugh. They turned back around and Finn watched as she continued to walk. She was very cute, he decided.

"Finn!" Logan yelled. Finn gave her one last once over, before turning back and following his friends.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

**_A.N: _**Yes, a PDLD, I just can't get this idea out of my head, and I like what I'm going to do. I just know that this one is going to be long… very long lol. It's going to take place of Rory's summer, key moments of season four, Rory's summer in season five with some changes, and season five itself with lots of changes. It won't follow the show exactly, but I know that there will be moments that are in the show, others are my own little things.

I hope you all enjoyed!

Kassandra


	2. How NOT to talk to a Girl

**_Part 2: How NOT to Talk to a Girl_**

"I feel bad." Finn said pushing his food tray to the center of the table.

"'Bout what?" Colin asked, taking the last bite of his food. They had settled on a seaside shack that served amazing seafood for lunch.

"Well, we left her all alone." Finn clarified.

"Who?" Logan asked taking drink of his soda.

"Rory." Finn said with a roll of his eyes.

"Mary?" Tristan asked. "Why would you feel bad about leaving her alone?"

"Well, she's gone off to wallow about some ass that's broken her heart and we're here, eating deep fried fish."

"Looks like someone's got a crush." Colin teased. Logan smirked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Just don't be an ass, Finn, she won't like you if you're an ass. I learned that one the hard way." Tristan said with a laugh.

"I think we should go over there." Finn said crossing his arms and ignoring the previous comments.

"What for?" Logan asked. "Do you really think that she wants four guys, three of which she doesn't even know, and one that she hated, to go over there and comfort her, when we don't even know what the situation is?"

"In omnia." Finn muttered.

"This isn't a 'live in the moment, be prepared for anything' moment, Finn." Colin said.

"At least let's get her the proper wallowing food." Finn said. "I mean, I don't think Emily and Richard have gallons of ice cream in their freezer for occasions such as this."

"How do you know what wallowing materials are needed, Finn?" Logan smirked.

"I've got sisters, jackass, they've gotten dumped plenty of times, and I've always been there to make them feel better. Now, are we doing this or not?"

Logan sighed at looked at the other two. They all knew that once Finn had an idea in his head, there was no talking him out of it.

Tristan nodded. "Let's go, but we are not staying, unless Rory invites us, Finn."

Finn nodded. "Colin, pay the bill, we'll meet you in the car." Finn said getting up and running to the car.

"You heard the man, pay the bill." Logan said walking off as well.

"Tell me, why is that I always get stuck with the bill?" Colin asked.

"It's because you're short and you're the youngest of us all." Tristan said with a smirk as he started for the car. Colin frowned then groaned.

"Tristan!" He yelled. Idiot, why was he friends with them? He asked himself as he walked off to pay the bill.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory put on her blue Happy Bunny pajamas with the words _Cute but Psycho _and a yellow rabbit in a straight jacketwith a matching tank top that read _Cute but Psycho, Things Even Out_. She grabbed a small SpongeBob blanket from her bed and walked down the stairs in her purple Happy Bunny slippers that came with the pajamas, her hair in a messy bun.

If she was going to wallow, then she was going to do it right. She had grabbed a few DVDs her mother had made her take and was about to go to the basement, where her grandmother had shown her the TV slash game room there. She heard a knock at the door and groaned pulling the blanket tighter around her body as she went to the door. She peeked through the little peep hole and frowned. Grocery bags were blocking her view from the people outside. She opened the door slowly.

"Hi." She said uneasily.

"Hello love." She heard the Australian accent.

"Finn?" She asked.

"Well, are you going to invite us in or just let us stand here and let the ice cream melt?" He asked. Rory opened the door wider and let the boys pass, each carrying two bags.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked, forgetting what she was wearing and letting the blanket loose to peek into one of the bags Tristan was carrying. He moved the bag out of her view and he smirked.

"Well," Finn began, "we heard that you were wallowing."

She looked up at him. "You were listening into my conversation?"

"You were really close to us," Finn defended.

Rory sighed. "Go on."

"And, well, we doubted that Emily and Richard had any wallowing materials so we are providing you with the food and movies."

"I've got the movies," Rory said. "And I ordered a pizza."

Finn looked at the movie in her hand "_Power of Myth,_ love?"

"Shut up." She said hiding the movies. "I packed other ones; I was just in a_ Power of Myth_ mood."

"Right, well, I've brought some of ours."

"Why are you all doing this, don't you have dates or something?" Rory asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Steph is in Aspen for the next week with her parents." Tristan said with a shrug.

"We don't mind canceling, love." Finn said.

"Speak for yourself." Logan muttered.

Rory bit her lip. "Down the hall, last door at the end. Can't miss it. I'll go get plates."

"No need," Colin said. "We bought plastic."

"Of course you did," She muttered.

"Lead the way," Tristan said with a smirk. Rory closed the front door and walked down the hall.

"By the way, love, nice pajamas." Fin said. Rory blushed and pulled the blanket around her as she opened the door and turned on the light. They walked down the stairs into the basement.

Plush white carpet covered the floor, while black couches made a half circle around a glass coffee table and the big theater screen. There was a bar off to the corner and a popcorn maker and coffee machine against the wall. The back wall held a cabinet filled with movies that her grandparents loved, and the DVD and VCR that connected to the projector on the ceiling.

"Nice place." Logan said, putting his bag on the table. Rory shrugged.

"Rather be at home with my mom." She muttered as she flopped onto the couch.

"Why's that?" Colin asked as he got out the plates and put them on the table. They all began to unpack the bags. When Rory tried to help Finn would slap her hands and glare at her.

"You're wallowing, you don't help." He said as he took out bags of chips. Rory rolled her arms, and sat back on the couch, crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the back of his head.

"To answer your question, Colin, I got conned into coming to Martha's Vineyard."

"Conned?" Tristan asked.

"That's right, conned. I was supposed to be in Europe, sleeping on the streets and hostelling it around with my mom, but no. My grandmother pulled out the guilt card."

"What guilt card?" Logan asked.

"She paid for Chilton."

"That I knew." Tristan said taking out the liters of soda.

"She's paying for Yale, and she thinks that she deserves at least one summer with her granddaughter alone, knowing full well that my mother and I had that Europe trip planned to the second. And me being the idiot that I am had to say yes, 'cause I can't refuse my grandmother 'cause I hate hurting people." She said glaring at the table.

"Careful with the table, love, I would hate to see a hole getting burned through such pretty glass." Finn teased putting the chips in bowls as Colin took out the many pints of ice cream they had gotten.

"All I have to say is that there better be Cherry Garcia in there." Colin passed her the pint as Logan passed her the spoon. "Thank you."

After the boys set up everything on the table, Rory sat amazed. They had gotten everything, from the million different types of chips, to the marshmallows, to twenty different types of ice cream. And three liter bottles of soda. Finn had put a vodka bottle in the center of everything. 'Just in case,' he had said.

"So which movie do you want?" He asked.

"What do you have?"

"All chick flicks." Colin grumbled. Rory smiled. _Shakespeare In Love, 10 Things I Hate About You, Wedding Singer, Ferris Bueller's Day Off _and _Dazed and Confused._

"So hard to choose." Rory said biting her lip. "What about _Casablanca_?" Rory asked.

"Didn't bring that one, love, we don't even own it."

Rory gasped, shot off the couch and went up the stairs, only to return minute later. "We have to watch this one first." Rory said. "Then I also have _Willy Wonka_, that one is a must."

"And you were going to watch _Power of Myth" _Tristan smirked.

"Shut up." Rory said sitting back down and grabbing her pint of ice cream. The boys were sitting all around the couch. Colin at the other end, Logan at the rounded out corner, Tristan next to him, leaving Finn to sit next to her. He started the movie and sat down, propping his feet on the table in front of him careful not to touch the food.

"So who was the guy the broke up with you?" Tristan asked.

"Why do you assume he broke up with me? I could have very well broken up with him."

"Then why would you be wallowing if you broke up with him?" Colin asked.

"Maybe I really liked him, but he was abusive, or maybe he was just an asshole, but I still really liked him."

"Was he?" Finn asked. Rory looked up from her ice cream with a frown and saw that all four guys were looking at her.

"Was he what?"

"Abusive." Tristan said.

Rory's eyes widened. "No!"

"Rory, you can tell us, we promise to keep the bloodshed to a minimum," Logan said.

"No, he wasn't," Rory said with a shake of her head. "He never touched me... well, he touched me... urg… this is coming out wrong." Rory said shaking her head.

"Breathe and explain." Colin said. Rory nodded and took a breath.

"He never hit me." Rory said. "Yeah, he would get pissed, but he never hit me, he's not like that," Rory defended.

"So did you sleep with him?" Tristan asked.

Rory shot him a glare. "No."

"What about the farmer boy?"

"No."

"So you're still a Mary." He smirked.

"I have every intention of throwing this half filled ice cream pint at your head." Rory said lifting it up.

"You're forgetting I've seen you throw."

"Shut up." Rory said lowering it.

"So what happened?" Colin asked. "Why'd he break up with you?"

"We didn't break up per se." Rory said biting her lip.

"What?" Logan asked.

"Well, see, we went to this party, Lane and her band were playing and I had to go, being their first gig and all."

"Lane?" Finn asked.

"My best friend."

"Ah, continue."

"But Jess was being all broody."

"Jess being the boyfriend?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, so he was being all broody, but he's always broody, so I didn't think anything of it. But when the party started, he just sort of wanted to go, and I teased him calling him grandpa and told him that the minute Lane and the band were done we could go. He agreed. Then Lane had some girl things that we had to talk about."

"Boys?" Tristan asked.

"She had a boyfriend, but her mom thought she was dating someone... that's another story." Rory said cutting herself off. "Anyway, we talked, and Jess disappeared. I asked around and they said he was upstairs, so I went up. I found him sitting in a room and I asked what was wrong, and we ended up kissing and on the bed." Rory winced at the memory. "He started going a little too far and when I told him to stop, he snapped at me, telling me that he didn't tell me to come up there. I thought it was my fault and left, crying."

"You know it wasn't your fault, right?" Colin asked.

"Yeah, now, anyway back to what happened. I ran down the stairs only to run into Dean."

"Who's he?"

"Her ex." Tristan said. Logan nodded.

"Anyway," Rory continued, "Dean and Jess aren't the biggest fans of each other so when Jess saw me talking to Dean when I was crying, he muttered 'figures' and started to leave. Dean went after him and punched Jess and, well, they got in a fight and it resulted in maybe damaging a house. It was only broken up when the cops came. Jess and Dean separated and Jess left. I would have gone after him, but Lane was throwing up in the bushes."

The boys looked at her confused. "She had gotten upset and drank a few too many beers resulting in her throwing up in the bushes. Being her best friend I had to do the best friend thing and hold her hair back, it's just a rule." Rory explained

"So what happened? Did he break up with you because you talked to your ex?" Logan asked.

"No, I found out later that he had been upset because he couldn't get the prom tickets, he was failing school and they refused to sell them to him. He knew how much I was looking forward to going to the prom and not being able to get the tickets pissed him off. But we were not talking to each other and we sort of stopped going out because I knew he was mad and he knew I was upset. And with finals going on at school, and with the newspaper, and my valedictorian speech, I was just really stressed."

"You beat Paris at valedictorian?" Tristan laughed. Rory nodded with a proud smile.

"Three points." She said making Tristan laugh.

"So what happened, love?"

"Oh, well, my mom and I had been passing through town when we saw this pretty red dress and she asked if I liked it for prom. That if I did, she could make me one like it. And that was when I just snapped saying that I probably wasn't going to prom; that I probably didn't even have a boyfriend anymore. My mom comforted me and took me home saying that it wasn't true. One little fight doesn't mean that we broke up. We've had fights before. Well, the next day we were driving through town after dinner and Luke saw us."

"Back up, Luke?" Logan asked.

"Jess's uncle. He was living with Luke." Rory explained. "Anyway, Luke saw us and he grabbed his broom and ran inside. I asked my mom about it and my mom told me Jess had left."

"I'm sorry, what?" Tristan asked.

Rory shrugged. "He had left, he had packed up his stuff and left. I found out later that he went to California to live with his dad. But what kills me is that he didn't tell me, he didn't even send me a letter, or called, or anything. He just left. And a few weeks later I got this call, and no one talks. And I knew it was him. He did it at graduation and I told him that I might have loved him, and he did it today at the beach. I can't..." Rory lowered her eyes to her ice cream. "I hate that I'm so stupid to believe we would have stayed together. God... he looked it up." Rory said, the tears breaking through.

"Looked what up, love?" Finn asked.

"The miles from Stars Hollow to Yale, he looked it up. God!" She said covering her face as the tears started to slide down her cheeks. Colin grabbed the box of tissues Finn had grabbed at the store and passed them to Finn who opened the box and handed her one.

"It'll be alright, love."

"He won't stop calling." She whispered. "I need him to stop calling." She felt Finn wrap his arm around her and bring her closer so that she was leaning up against his side, his hands making comforting circles on her back as she cried. A few minutes later he felt her breathing even and heard her stop crying.

"Jeez, he did a number on her." Tristan said.

"Who'd be stupid enough to leave her?" Colin asked. "I mean look at her. Have you seen her eyes!"

"Yeah, I fell for those too." Tristan said with a smirk

"You're really falling for her, aren't you, Finn?" Logan asked staring at Finn who was still making circles on her back. He watched as Finn shrugged and looked down at the sleeping girl.

"What can I say, I tend to have a weak spot for the weak and vulnerable."

"Believe me she's not that weak." Tristan said. "She dealt with Paris Geller for three years. No one is weak and vulnerable when you deal with Paris Geller that long. I know, I've dealt with her longer."

They heard a faint buzzing sound and they all searched their pockets.

"Not any of ours." Tristan said.

"It's probably hers." Colin looked around the room and found it sitting on the floor underneath Rory. He picked it up and answered. Before he could reply someone started talking.

"California! He is moving to California! What am I going to do! I mean this is Dave Rygalski for Christ's sake. I love him. I love him and he's moving to California!"

"I'm…"

"I mean really, this is the first boy I liked, is the first boy that my mom approves of and my very first boyfriend and now he's going to California!"

"I'm so…"

"I mean it's not only me that's upset. Zach refuses to talk to him now and Brian is avoiding him like the plague. I mean I'm not only losing a boyfriend, but I'm losing a band mate! What's the band going to do huh? Rory!"

"I'm not Rory." Colin said into the phone.

"What? Oh my god, did I dial the wrong number? No… Who are you and what have you done with Rory!"

Colin turned to Finn. "Wake her up," he growled.

"Oh god, he's going to California and we're going to break up." Colin sighed and turned to Finn who was working on Rory. Tristan and Logan just sat there, an amused expression on both their faces as Colin tried calming down the person on the other end.

"Rory," Finn called. She didn't rouse. He shook her a bit. "Love, you've got to wake up."

He watched as her eyes opened and her hands came up and rubbed her eyes. She removed her hands and stared at him and he stared at her.

"Look, if you guys break up, maybe you can stay friends." She heard Colin say, She frowned and looked over at him and noticed her cell phone to his ear. She sat up.

"Who's Colin talking to?" Rory asked.

"Your friend." Finn said.

"My…" Rory looked at Finn before looking at Colin again.

"Hey, it's not my fault he's going, so quit yelling at me!" Colin said. Rory shot off the couch and grabbed the phone glaring at him.

"Lane?"

"Rory! He's going to California!"

"UCLA? He got accepted, that's great. Send him my congratulations!"

"Rory!"

"What? It's good."

"California! What idiot let him into UCLA!"

"But it's a good school."

"He's going to UCLA and I'm going to Seventh-day Adventist College. He's living in a dorm, I'm living in my mother's house. While he's eating at the cafeteria real food and experiencing college life, I'm stuck here eating wheat balls! My boyfriend is moving to California!"

"At least he told you." Rory muttered.

"Oh god, Rory, I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about it."

"Phone stealer was right."

"Phone stealer… Oh Colin… What was he right about?" Rory asked sitting back down on the couch, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"We're going to break up." Lane sighed.

Rory grabbed an empty ice cream carton and threw it at Colin.

"Hey, what the hell was that for!"

"Dave and Lane will not break up. I can't believe you told her that!" She turned her attention back to the phone conversation. "You hear that, you and Dave will not break up."

"Are you sure?"

"Take my car."

"And drive it off a cliff?" Lane asked

"No! No suicide talk." Rory laughed. "Take my car. The keys are somewhere in the house, ask my mom, she should be there."

"And do what with your car?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Rory, I'm freaking out here."

"Right, apparently I do. Take my car and drive it to his house, talk it over with him."

"Talk what over?"

"Lane, focus!"

"Right."

"Take my car to Dave's and talk about whatever is going on with him. Tell him what you are feeling."

"Thank you, Dr. Phil!"

"You're welcome."

"Hey Rory."

"Yeah?"

"Is that what you would have done with Jess?"

"Talk?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you know Jess, I could barely get more than a monosyllabic answer from him, so I doubt talking to him would have worked. You heard me tell him the night of the fire, that if he needed help, I'd help him. He said he had it covered."

"But he was failing."

"I know, but he didn't tell me, he didn't want help. He's stubborn and a jerk."

"And you loved him."

"I did."

"Did you wallow?"

"Just began."

"Good. Well then, I'm walking down the stairs." Lane announced.

"Good."

"I'm grabbing my jacket off the hook."

"Go get 'em, girl!" Rory said with a laugh.

"I am grabbing my house keys."

"Okay, I'm out of cheers."

"I am walking out the door."

"Um, Lane…"

"I am walking down the street."

"Lane."

"I just ran into Kirk. Sorry Kirk!"

"Lane!"

"What?"

"Don't you think you should have left the phone at home?"

"The…The phone! Okay, turning around."

"Good girl."

"Running into Kirk again. Sorry Kirk!"

"Poor guy."

"And walking back in the house."

"Talk to you later."

"Hanging up. Bye Rory!"

"Bye." She heard the dial tone and shook her head before grabbing another empty ice cream container and throwing it at Colin.

"Okay, you really need to stop doing that!" Colin yelled, wiping his shirt where the strawberry ice cream that had been in the carton had fell.

"Why, why would you tell my best friend that she and her boyfriend would break up!"

"Hey, she was yelling at me!"

"She was freaking out!" She said throwing another one. Colin winced as it hit his stomach.

"That one was full, wasn't it?" Tristan asked with a smirk. Colin nodded.

"You really don't know how to talk to a girl. Lane and Dave worked unbelievably hard to be together and you, you with your, your... god, I can't even find the words! The bottom line is that you can't talk to a girl when she is freaking out about her boyfriend moving to California for school!"

"She was yelling in my ear, a lot like what you're doing now! I don't work well when someone is screaming at me!"

"Yeah, well get used to it, bucko, 'cause I am nowhere near finished!" Rory said standing up.

"Rory!" She heard upstairs and winced.

"The Gilmores are here. Insert dun dun dun here." Rory muttered as she went upstairs. She turned back. "You three stay down here, not one peep."

"Peep." Tristan said. Rory glared.

"Your fate is worse than Colin's if you even make one noise." She said as she ran up the stairs. They heard the door close and Colin rubbed his stomach.

"Damn, she has one strong arm."

"She sucked back at Chilton." Tristan defended.

"People change." Finn said with a shrug just as the credits started rolling for _Casablanca._

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

_**AN:**_


	3. Outing As Friends

_**Part 3: Outing As Friends**_

Rory climbed the steps to the living room where her grandparents were, her grandfather getting drinks while her grandmother was on the couch.

"Rory!" Her grandmother said with a smile.

"Hi grandma."

"You're still in your pajamas." Emily said with a frown.

"Yeah, I went down the beach for a few hours, and then came back here to watch movies."

"Did you have fun at the beach?" Her grandfather asked.

"Yeah, I ran into a friend of mine." Rory admitted.

"Really?" Emily asked in interest. "Who was it?"

"Tristan DuGray."

"Nice boy." Richard said. "His grandfather is a good friend of mine. I didn't know Tristan was back."

"He's staying at a house with his friends for the summer, they're downstairs."

"You were with them in your pajamas? Rory, that's horrible." Her grandmother disapproved.

"They came over. I was already in my pajamas and they came over."

"Well, we won't keep you," Richard said. "Don't keep your friends waiting."

"Thanks, grandpa." Rory said as she turned and walked back down the stairs. She saw the guys cleaning up the cartons of ice cream and spilled chips.

"I'm back."

"Hey," Tristan said straightening. "We were going to get going."

"Oh." Rory said.

"I mean we can stay if you want." Colin said. Rory shook her head.

"No, I don't want to keep you. I bet you all have dates."

"Damn right." Logan said making Rory smile.

"I'll show you out." Rory said as she climbed up the steps, the four boys following her. She led them to the front door and opened them, letting them out before stepping out with them.

"I really appreciate what all of you did today. Definitely a good wallow."

"It was all Finn's idea." Logan said as he walked back to the car.

"He's a jerk, Rory, don't let him get to you." Tristan said talking about Jess, giving her a hug then walking back with Logan.

"What Tristan said..." Colin said with a smile.

"Thanks." Rory laughed as she watched him go back. She turned to Finn. "So I guess all the credit goes to you, huh?"

"I have sisters. I knew you were wallowing. I also know that Emily Gilmore doesn't have the proper wallowing food in her freezer."

"Well, one is never properly prepared to wallow, she just didn't have enough of a warning."

"Of course." Finn laughed.

"Thanks, Finn."

"You're welcome. I was actually wondering…"

"What?"

"Well, if you wanted to take walk out on the beach with me?"

"Finn…"

"Just as friends." He said holding his hands up. "And I know what you're about to say, we just met, how can we be friends. Well, I'll give you the answer."

"You sound like an infomercial guy." Rory laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"So what's the answer?"

"We walk on the beach, we get to know each other… thus becoming friends." Finn said with a smirk.

Rory bit her lip and gave a small nod. "Okay."

"Really?"

"As friends." Rory said.

"As friends." Finn said with a nod. "I'll pick you up at seven."

"Use the back." Rory said. "Do you know where?"

"Yep, I'll meet you." Finn said with a nod.

"Good, see you at seven." Rory said with a smile as she walked backwards back into the house.

"Seven." Finn repeated as he walked backwards and then turned to go into the car. He got in and watched her close the door to the house before closing the door to the car himself.

"Did you get a date?" Logan asked with a smirk as he shot him a glance through the rearview mirror.

"She's not ready to date, Logan." Finn said looking back at him through the mirror. "She's vulnerable and even I know not to take advantage of that, though we are going out as friends."

"You barely know her." Tristan said as he drove down the street.

"Someone's protective." Colin teased.

"Shut it, Colin." Tristan said shooting him a glare.

"Tristan, you're right. I do barely know her. And I'm hoping a walk on the beach will rectify that situation." Finn smirked. Tristan rolled his eyes as he pulled up to their own summer house.

"Just don't hurt her, Finn, she's not like most girls, she's…"

"Innocent?" Logan asked getting out of the car. Tristan sighed and gave a nod.

"That's a perfect word for her." Tristan agreed getting out as well. Finn sighed to himself as he got out along with Colin.

"I'll be careful with her, I swear." Finn said to Tristan, Colin looked over at him.

"Finn, just do me a favor."

"What?" He asked stopping to face Colin as the other two entered the house.

"If she's just going to be one of the many unknowns, let it go now. I can tell Tristan really cares for her. And I like her too. She's nice."

"Just nice?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I like that she's not like all the other girls we know. She's still innocent and naive. I like that she's not a slut. And I think that's what you like about her too."

"Might be one of the things." Finn agreed with a nod.

"Just…" Colin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Just be careful with her. She just got her heart broken and now with you as a likely prospect… She doesn't need it. She's not the one night stand girl, Finn. She's a boyfriend girl."

"I know."

"Can you be a boyfriend?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to be a boyfriend?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you better figure it out fast."

"Why?"

"Cause I think she might like you back. She didn't cry on Tristan, now did she?"

"I was closest." Finn argued.

"She just met you, why would she cry on you if she just met you? She's known Tristan longer than you." Finn stayed silent, not knowing how to answer. "All I'm saying, Finn, is that she's not like all the other conquests we brag about on Sunday night poker games with the guys. So you better figure out what you want to do with her before the more than friends possibility comes into play." Colin turned having said what he wanted to say and left Finn in the driveway staring at the place where Colin had just been standing.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory searched through her closet. She didn't know why she was so worked up for one simple outing with someone she had just met a few hours ago. He was a friend, she kept telling herself.

A very handsome friend, with green eyes and brown tousled hair.

"Ugh." Rory groaned as she lay back on her bed amid all the articles of clothing she had thrown there. She couldn't fall for this guy. He was Tristan's friend. _Tristan DuGray's_ friend. Tristan being some womanizing jerk that just settled down… okay, two years ago. She groaned again and covered her face.

She had just started getting over Jess; she couldn't enter a relationship this fast again. She was not going to repeat the mistake of getting into a relationship so soon after breaking up with her boyfriend.

'_You got into a relationship with Jess five minutes after breaking up with Dean and look how that turned out,_' she thought as she sat up on the bed. Then again Finn probably only wanted to be her friend. It wasn't like he had out and out told her that he wanted this to be a date. He had been the one to put 'as friends' behind the word outing. She had been the one to assume it was a date.

God, she hated boys, with their confusing minds and never being out right with a girl. A girl could have an aneurysm just trying to figure out how a boy's mind worked.

She got off her bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt with the words _Too Cute to Shoot_ and a little deer on it. She put on a denim jacket and looked at herself in the mirror before pulling her hair into a ponytail.

She needed to get it cut, she decided. She would have to do that before school started. She grabbed her cell phone and keys and walked down the stairs before heading back up when she remembered she didn't have shoes on.

"Just a friend, just a friend." She repeated over and over. She grabbed her black Converse that were sitting on the floor under a pair of jeans. She was putting them on when her cell phone began vibrating in her pocket. She took it out and put it up to her ear as she put on her shoe.

"Hello." She answered, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder

"Have you forgotten about mama?"

"No, I haven't." Rory answered amused as she started with the other shoe.

"Good, just checking." Lorelai laughed.

"Hi mom."

"Hey kid, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"You sound out of breath. Are you exerting yourself in ways that you should not be exerting yourself?"

"If I was having sex, do you really think I'd answer the phone?" Rory asked setting down her foot and smiling.

"Good point." Lorelai agreed. "But you're still out of breath."

"I'm going out; I had gotten half way down the stairs when I realized I didn't have shoes on so I ran back up."

"You weren't wearing shoes?"

"I forgot to put them on."

"Who are you going out with?"

"A friend." Rory said leaving her room once again and closing the door before heading down the stairs.

"What friend?"

"Well, you know how I ran into Tristan earlier?"

"You mean how he fell on you?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes, I remember."

"Well, he introduced me to some of his friends."

"I remember that too."

"And, well, I left them to wallow."

"Over Jess?"

"Yes, and when I was headed downstairs to the basement, I heard this knock. Imagine my surprise when Tristan and his friends show up, each with two grocery bags, filled with junk food. Turns out Finn, a friend of Tristan's, made them make a pit stop and they got me junk food, and, well, when they left, Finn asked me if I wanted to take a walk on the beach, sort of an outing as friends, to get to know each other better. And I agreed."

"So you're going on at date with a guy you just met?"

"It's not a date." Rory said as she went to the living room and saw her grandparents talking. "Just a sec, mom."

"Wait!" She heard on the phone. She rolled her eyes and ignored her.

"Grandma, grandpa, I'm going out."

"Where?" Emily asked.

"I'm just taking a walk on the beach with a friend, I'll be back."

"All right, have fun."

"I will." Rory said as she went through the door to the back. "Sorry."

"So not a date?"

"Just as friends." Rory said trying to convince her mother as well as herself.

"You keep telling yourself that, sweets."

"I've been..." Rory trailed off when she noticed Finn standing near the gate to the backyard, wearing tan shorts and a blue button down shirt, buttoned halfway, showing off the thin, white undershirt that showed off his chest.

"He's there, isn't he?" Lorelai teased.

"Yeah."

"Is it a wow?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Yep." She moved the phone as she reached him. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." He answered with a smile, his green eyes shining with the smile and his hair tousled. "Who are you talking to?"

"My mom." Rory said.

"Rory?" She heard on her phone. Rory winced.

"Just a sec, okay, Finn?" He gave a nod as he opened the gate door and let her pass.

"Hey mom, sorry."

"He better be damn cute if you're ignoring me."

"He is." Rory blushed.

"Good, now how do you feel about me going down there?"

"What?" Rory asked.

"Don't sound so panicked."

"I'm not, what do you mean?"

"Well, how about I go pick you up after the three months are over with. I mean, you spend three months with your grandparents, no need to spend an extra two hours with them."

"Really?"

"Really, I'll go pick you up and we'll go shopping. Maybe stop in on your dad and Sherry."

"Well..."

"Or not, I mean it can just be the two of us. A road trip."

"Just as long as we don't stop at the Cheshire Cat... I'm in."

"Good, so two and a half months."

"Two and a half months." Rory repeated with a smile.

"I miss you, kid."

"Miss you too, mom."

"I'll let you go, to be with your date."

"It's not a..."

"Yeah, yeah." Lorelai cut her off. "Bye."

"Bye." Rory said hanging up and stuffing the phone in her pocket. She turned to Finn. "Sorry, she called while I was getting ready."

"Its fine, are you close to your mum?" He asked still smiling.

"Very close." Rory responded. "She's more like my best friend than my mother. It's really rare that she pulls out the mom card with me... what about you and your parents?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm closer to my dad and my sisters."

"How many sisters?"

"Two. One older, one younger."

"You're in the middle?"

Finn nodded. "My older sister is Amelia. Mila for short."

"Pretty."

"She's twenty-four, and my younger sister Shelby, is fourteen."

"Are they both in Australia?"

"Yep."

"That's very cool."

"Any siblings for you, love?"

"No, well..." Rory frowned. "Yeah, a half-sister, Gigi. She's about a year old. She's my dad's."

"Your parents never married, right?"

"Right."

"Are you close to your dad?"

"No, not much anymore, but that's another story."

"I won't push." Finn said with a nod as they continued walking down the beach. "How about we start at the basics."

"All right."

"Full name?"

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. The Third if you want to get technical."

Finn laughed. "All right, Eugene Finnegan Rothschild. And I'm the First."

Rory laughed. "How about favorite colors?"

"Green."

"Blue." Rory answered.

"What about movies?"

"The original Willy Wonka, though I enjoyed the remake, solely for Johnny Depp of course"

"Of course."

"There's no beating the original."

"Very true."

"What about your favorite movie?"

"The Godfather."

"One, two or three?"

"All."

"Good. My mom and I watch The Godfather solely for the Sophia's dying scene."

"Yes, the reason I watch it too." Finn smirked. He watched as she laughed tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Shit. He hated when Colin was right. "So are we friends now?" He asked wanting to take his mind off what Colin had said.

"I think so." She said slowly. He could tell she was teasing him. They walked in silence, their forearms occasionally brushing. "I was wondering," she said after a while.

"What?"

"How do you and Tristan know each other?"

"Oh, well, our families are all good friends, we've all known each other for years. They used to stay at my house when we were younger, when their parents visited mine in Australia. We all became best buddies, but then Tristan got sent to North Carolina and we rarely saw him until he came home last summer and we all got dragged to some party and, well, Tristan meet Steph, and we all sort of reunited."

"I sort of assumed it was some childhood thing."

"Well, you assumed right. What about you? How do you know Tristan?"

"I transferred into Chilton midyear and Tristan just happened to be one of the first people I met. He dubbed me Mary."

"You're his Mary!" Finn asked with a smirk.

"I guess."

"Huh, I learn a new thing everyday."

"Apparently." Rory teased. "So do you, Logan and Colin all go to Yale?"

"Yeah, followed in our fathers' footsteps... Logan sort of got forced. He wanted Princeton, but Colin and I had always wanted Yale."

"So I'll see you around campus then?" Rory asked, trying not to get her enthusiasm get the better of her.

"Well, actually, Colin, Logan and I are all taking next year off."

"Really? Why?"

"We are traveling around Fiji on Logan's dad's yacht."

"Sounds fun."

"Very. We were all surprised when our parents agreed to our little adventure. A full year of fun and debauchery."

Rory laughed. "And I thought that was what Vegas was for."

Finn dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand "Pshh, Vegas is for amateurs. Yachts are for the pros."

"And you consider yourself a pro?"

"I do."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night, Finn." Rory laughed. They continued walking down the beach, talking about their lives, never hitting anything too deep, but sticking to the basics.

Finn had grown up in Australia till the age of ten when he moved to Hartford, when his parents split up. He followed his dad while his sisters stayed with his mom. He ended up going to a boarding school in Switzerlandwith Logan and Colin from the age of fourteen to eighteen until he went to Yale. Though his life was hectic, with school and going to Harford to see his dad, he tried to go back every Christmas to spend time with his mother and sisters though he was much closer to his dad. Both his parents had remarried, but divorced once again and stayed single.

She felt a bit sorry for him, though she knew that he was probably used to it. It was sad to think that he and his sisters had been split up.

He got to know more about her as well. Rory had grown up with her mother in the small town of Stars Hollow. Her mother had gotten pregnant at sixteen and had had Rory. When Rory was two, Lorelai had run away to the small town, living in the gardening shed behind an inn and raising Rory there for the first eleven years of her life, before they moved into their house which they had dubbed 'The Crap Shack'. Rory had gotten accepted to Chilton a month after she had started her sophomore year of high school, and had just graduated valedictorian of her class, and was now looking forward to a new year at Yale.

Though their lives differed, hobbies and extracurricular seemed to be alike.

Though Rory loved to read and study and was very school oriented, she spent all her free time with her friends and family, even if it was just an hour, eating dinner with her mom at the local diner before having to study. Finn, though he studied, he didn't like doing it often, instead he liked spending time with Colin and Logan, teasing each other and partying. But he also liked talking to his sisters and spending time with them every chance he got.

"What is it you want to do, love?" Finn asked as they reached the gate to the back of the house.

"I want to be an overseas correspondent."

"Big goal."

"It's been my life's dream."

"Well, at least you have something to look forward to."

"You don't know what you want to do?" She asked.

"Not as of yet. I like history, hate math."

"Then I would suggest you don't become an accountant... or a math magician for that matter."

Finn laughed. "Good advice, love."

"I think so."

"Well, this is where I leave you."

"Thanks, Finn, for taking me out, I appreciate it."

"It was no problem. We should do it again."

"We should." Rory agreed. "I'm going to go inside, my grandparents are probably worried."

"I'll see you later."

"Bye Finn." She smiled as she opened the gate and walked towards the house. Finn watched her walk in before turning back and walking towards the house they were staying at.

He slid open the back door and walked in noticing Colin and Tristan playing video games in the living room, neither one of them looking up at him as he walked past. He thought he had gotten home safe once he reached the second step when Colin spoke.

"So how'd it go?" Colin asked. Finn sighed.

"Fine."

"Just fine?" Tristan asked with a smirk, pausing their game, both of them looking at him.

"Where's Logan?" He asked hoping to distract them.

"Oh a date with some blonde. Now, just fine?" Colin said.

"We talked, that's about the basis of it. We walked, we talked, and I walked her back home, now I'm tired."

"It's nine at night." Tristan said with a look at the clock. Finn rolled his eyes.

"Well, then I'm watching TV."

"In your room, where there is no TV?" Colin asked. Finn glared and stormed off to his room leaving his two laughing friends behind them.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_


	4. Shit, I'm Falling

_**Part 4: Shit... I'm Falling **_

"I am never going shopping with Emily Gilmore again," Rory said flopping down on the couch of the Huntzberger house next to Tristan, plopping her feet on his lap.

Tristan looked over at her and laughed at her appearance.

"Oh my god," he said, taking the pink lacy hat off her head and putting it on his own. He then looked at her dress and laughed harder. "Oh my god!"

"I am never going shopping with Emily Gilmore again," Rory huffed as she crossed her arms over her pink lace covered chest and glared at a laughing Tristan.

She had been on Martha's Vineyard for a month now. She had gotten to know each boys better and formed a closer friendship with Tristan, Colin and Finn. Logan was a little harder to pinpoint. She had the feeling that he didn't like her much.

"Hey Ror... Oh my god," Colin said coming down the stairs and laughing at her appearance. She looked down and groaned.

She was wearing a long pink dress that was made more for the 16th hundreds than the 21st century the way it was covered in pinkand white lace from head to toes, including the hat that Tristan was now donning on his head.

"That's it, I'm never coming back here if you are going to laugh at me," Rory said. Tristan put the hat back on her head, then stood up. As he was crossing, he tripped over something and grabbed on to the table so that he didn't fall flat on his face. He stood up straight and looked around for what he tripped on. Rory closed her eyes. Shit.

"Oh my god!" Tristan exclaimed. "Rory, stand up."

"No, that's okay," Rory said.

"Is that what I think it is?" Colin asked with a laugh as he came the rest of the way down the stairs.

"I don't know," Tristan said. She could hear the smirk, then she heard a pop and Tristan and Colin laugh. "Oh yeah, Colin. It was what you thought it was."

Rory got up and grabbed the parasol out of Tristan's hands. "You know what?" Rory said closing it and smacking Tristan's arm with it. "It's not my fault I'm too kind, that I can't tell my grandmother no."

"Hopefully you learned better, now that you're wearing... well, that," Colin laughed, earning a smack on the arm from Rory and her parasol.

"What the bloody hell is going on down here?" Finn said coming down the stairs, stopping when he saw Rory and biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"Don't you dare," Rory glowered.

"I'm sorry" Finn said. "I didn't know it was Halloween."

"Oh! I hate you all!" Rory exclaimed. "I'm going home and I'm going to go change!" She said storming to the front door and wrenching it open, only to come face to face with a pretty blonde girl. "Oh sorry," Rory said.

"It's fine, Um… hi," the girl said.

"Hi," Rory responded.

"This is Logan Huntzberger's place, right?"

"Yep, but I'm not sure where he is."

"Oh, I wasn't looking for him, I was looking for Tristan."

"Right, I'll go get him," Rory said going back to the living room The boys turned and smiled at her.

"Tristan, one word and I won't let the pretty blonde asking for you in."

"Blonde?" Tristan asked, "The only blonde I know is..." Tristan's eyes widened before he jumped over the couch and into the foyer, knocking Rory into the chair next to her. Before she could tell him off, she heard a squeal, then a slam.

"Who was at the door, love?" Finn asked helping her up.

"I don't know," Rory said with a shrug. "Just a blonde asking for Tristan."

Finn turned the Colin who sighed. "So much for guys' summer," he said before going over to the door. Finn and Rory followed him and saw that Colin had the door open to reveal Tristan making out with the blonde.

"Let me guess," Rory said, "Stephanie?"

"You guessed right," Finn said with a smile. "They'll be at it for a while. Come on, I'll walk you home the back way," Finn said before turning to Colin. "I'll be back."

"Yeah, whatever," Colin said closing the door.

Finn led Rory through the living room to the back door and onto the beach. They walked back to her own house in silence, listening to the waves roll in.

They had gone out a few times after their walk on the beach, getting to know each other better. He learned more about her absentee dad and the town of Stars Hollow in their time together, just like she had learned more about him and his strained relationship with his mom.

She had also gotten to know more about Colin. He was her equal when it came to arguing about political views. More than once Finn and Tristan had had to separate them from their heated arguments and opposing views, at times getting vicious to the point where out of nowhere food would fly at Colin's face, then Tristan would take Rory's spoon away.

Tristan was the one who knew her past better than anyone. Well, out of the four of them he was the one that knew her. He was the one that her mother knew and would ask about. And he was the one who would ask how certain people were. He was the one she talked to when something happened in the town knowing that he would find it as funny as she had.

Finn was… she didn't know what Finn was. Finn was the person who she told her problems too. The one she knew would probably help her fix them. But then he was also another person that she could tell the going-ons of her town. He was the person who humored her when the pepperoni on her pizza was mad at the mushrooms.

Logan, well, he was rarely around when Rory was at the house or with his friends. Whenever she asked about him, he was out on a date or asleep or just out. After the wallowing session at the Gilmore house, she hadn't seen much of him. Not that she was complaining. Though they tried to reassure her, she still thought that Logan didn't like her. It didn't bother her... much.

"We're having a bonfire tonight," Finn said, jarring Rory out of her thoughts.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Logan and whatever blonde he's screwing will be there, me, Colin and Tristan, and now Steph. You'll have another girl to talk to... that is if she detaches herself from Tristan long enough to talk to you."

"Is that your subtle way of inviting me, Finn?"

"My very subtle way, yes," he laughed.

"I'll be there," Rory said. "After dinner?"

"I'll come pick you up," Finn said, kissing her cheek as they reached the gate to her house.

"See you later, Finn," Rory said as she opened the gate and walked up the path leading up the back doors. She saw her grandfather and grandmother talking in the living room.

"Rory! See, Richard, she just looks darling in that dress!" Emily said. Richard looked up from his book at Rory and looked in her eyes giving her an "I'm-sorry-your-grandmother-is-crazy" pity look.

"Very darling," Richard agreed.

"If you don't mind, grandma, I'm going to go change for dinner."

"All right, dear," Emily said. "Dinner's in twenty minutes."

"I'll be down by then," Rory told her as she climbed the stairs the best she could in the dress. Once in her room she took it off and went to her closet, grabbing her bathing suit from her dresser, then a pair of jeans and a green short sleeved shirt that read _I have gone to find myself, If I come back before I return, KEEP ME HERE!_ She put on her bathing suit, which consisted of little shorts and a tankini, then put on her clothes over it.

Knowing Finn and Tristan, and even Colin, being thrown into the ocean at least once was called for and she didn't want to be caught off guard like last time. She grabbed her beach bag and put in her towel, a book and a cell phone.

Her mother made it a habit of calling exactly at nine o'clock at night, knowing that her grandparents had probably already left her alone and she was locked in her room for the night, when truth was she was usually at the guys' house watching movies and eating junk food to get rid of the bad taste of whatever her grandmother had gotten the cook to make for dinner.

"Rory!" Her grandmother called. "Dinner!"

Rory grabbed her bag, slipping on her Converse and walking down the stairs, leaving the bag on the couch before joining her grandparents in the dining room. She sat down on the right side of the table, her grandparents at the head and started on her salad.

"So how were your friends?" Emily asked.

Rory smiled at her. "They're good, grandma."

"Now who are they again?" Richard asked.

"Tristan DuGray, I went to Chilton with him for about a year and a half before he left for North Carolina," Rory said, not wanting to say 'shipped off to military school.'

"Oh right," Richard nodded in remembrance. "Janlan's grandson."

"Yes," Rory agreed.

"And who else?" Emily asked.

"Just some friends of his," Rory said. "Tristan's girlfriend came today, so it's not just guys."

"A girl, staying with four boys? None of which she's related to?" Emily asked.

"No, she's related to Colin, they're cousins," Rory told her.

"Who else, Rory?"

"Well, Colin McCrea," Rory told her grandfather.

"His father, is it Andrew McCrea, right?" Richard asked.

"I think so."

"Fine man, Andrew, I've done business with him."

"Colin's nice. Then there's also Logan Huntzberger."

"Uh huh," Richard laughed. "A Huntzberger. You'd do good to become his friend, Rory."

Rory gave a small nod. She didn't care much that Logan's family owned newspapers, it would help having those connections. But seeing as she rarely saw Logan, let alone talked to him, she didn't think it was worth the effort being his friend.

"Then Finn Rothschild," Rory said.

"Rothschild?" Emily muttered. "Ah… the out-of-towners," she told Richard who gave a short nod. Rory rolled her eyes.

"They're from Australia, grandma, not exactly out of town," Rory commented. Emily didn't comment, instead she changed the subject.

"So what do you have planned for tonight, Rory?"

"My friends are having a bonfire down at the beach. Finn invited me to come."

"I'm so happy that you made friends down here," Emily said. "It'll give you more incentive to come back."

"Actually, they all go to Yale, grandma. But Finn, Logan and Colin are taking next year off to travel."

"Oh?" Richard asked. Rory nodded.

"Yeah, Finn's been telling me about it. They have their whole year planned. They're traveling around Fiji, then coming back," Rory explained excitedly, even if she wasn't the one going.

"They would be juniors, wouldn't they?" Richard asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Rory said, causing Richard to nod.

"Some damn fine connections," he muttered. The rest of dinner was filled with idle chit-chat between the Gilmores. By the time dinner ended, Rory was anxious to leave. She knew that Finn was probably already waiting for her.

"You can go now, Rory," Emily said, dabbing her lips lightly with the linen napkin.

"What?" Rory asked, a mixture of confusion and surprise lacing her voice.

"You've been fidgeting in your seat for the past twenty minutes. I know you want to go, now go."

Rory smiled and got up putting her napkin on the table, kissing her grandpa, then grandma.

"Thank you," she whispered before running out of the dining room. She grabbed her denim jacket off the hook, then her bag and left. She walked down the path and opened the gate to see Finn waiting for her.

"About bloody time," Finn teased as he took her hand and led her down the beach.

"Sorry, they held me captive."

"It's fine" Finn laughed as he pulled her instinctively closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"They asked about you guys," Rory said looking up at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently being friends with Logan is some damn fine connection," Rory said with a roll of her eyes.

"They would say that," Finn said.

"I don't think he likes me much," she admitted.

"Who, love?"

"Logan."

Finn looked down at her and frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this feeling."

"If you want, I can ask," Finn said with a smile.

"No, it's okay," she laughed, then shrugged. "It's just a feeling." They walked in silence until they came to the group. There was a fire burning with four long logs around it. Colin was sitting on one by himself, Tristan and Stephanie on the one across from him, Logan and a blonde sat on another one, leaving an empty one for her and Finn. Everyone had a stick with a marshmallow on it, roasting it in the fire.

"Hey Rory," Colin greeted passing two sticks to Finn and a bag of marshmallows.

"Hey Colin, guys," Rory greeted as she sat down, putting her bag next to her. Finn passed her the stick and put the bag in between them.

"Steph, this is Rory; Rory, this is my girlfriend Stephanie," Tristan introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," Rory smiled shaking the blonde's hand. "Tristan's talked about you non stop."

"Yeah, he tends to do that," Steph laughed. "Sorry if he bored you."

"To tears," Rory teased. "But Finn found the electrical tape and it solved the problem."

"Electrical tape, that might come in handy," Steph muttered.

"For more than one thing," Tristan said suggestively causing Steph to giggle and cuddle up further to his side

"Dirty," Rory mumbled, causing Finn to laugh. She placed her marshmallow in the fire and rotated it.

"I don't get it?" The other blonde said. "What's the electrical tape for?"

"That, love, is Rose. She's Logan's date for the night," Finn told her, taking his own stick out of the fire.

"Nice to meet you," Rory said with a nod.

"You too," she said giddily.

"So Rory," Logan began. "What's in the bag?"

Rory shrugged, "A towel, a book and my cell phone." She took her stick out and blew on the marshmallow, before gingerly biting into it.

"You expecting a call?" He asked.

Rory nodded. "My mom," she told him, swallowing the gooey substance.

"You talk to your mom?" Rose asked in surprise.

"Avidly," Rory told her.

"Avi..."

"It means a lot," Colin clarified.

"Oh," Rose said with a nod of her head.

"Where does he find them?" Rory asked Finn quietly. He shrugged.

"We have the 'don't ask, don't tell' rule, love."

"Ahh," she nodded.

"So Mary, what's the book this evening?" Tristan asked.

"Mary?" Steph asked. "You're Tristan's Mary?"

"I wish you would stop calling me that, Tristan," Rory said with a glare as she put another marshmallow on her stick.

"You love it."

"It's nice to finally put a face to the girl who shot down my boyfriend," Steph said taking her own out and making Tristan blow on the marshmallow before putting it in her mouth.

"My pleasure," Rory smiled. "And it's _A Clockwork Orange_," she told him.

"Is that like about a clock thats like made out of like oranges?" Rose asked.

They all looked at her in disbelief, even Logan looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't hurt yourself by thinking too hard about it," Finn told Rose whose frown deepened. Logan whispered something in her ear, making her shrug and stand up.

"We'll be back," Logan said with a smirk as he wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulders and led her past Rory and Finn and down the beach.

"Seriously, where does he find them?" Colin asked.

"Hey! You stole my question!" Rory accused.

Colin shrugged. "I think it's on all our minds."

"Was it just me or was this one stupider than the rest?" Tristan asked.

"Stupider," Finn agreed with a serious nod. "Definitely... No, wait," he said with a brilliant smile. "There was the girl that thought daylight saving was a world wide shoe sale that took place during the day."

"She did not!" Rory laughed.

"It's true… Or what about the girl that tried to drown Logan's fish," Colin pointed out.

"Are you serious?" Rory asked.

"We caught her," Steph told her with a nod. "It was our senior year of high school. Poor fish, had no idea what fate would bring him," Steph said with a shake of her head.

"Jeez, that's sad," Rory said.

"The stupider the better," Colin told her. "It's makes it easier to make them leave in the morning."

"That's horrible," Rory told him.

"But true," Tristan said.

"Yes, you would know," Rory told him. "You dated Summer."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "That was different."

"How so? She was stupid," Rory pointed out.

"Hey!" Tristan protested, "She wasn't that stupid."

"When we were studying the Huns' invasion of Europe," Rory told them, "She thought we were talking about Han Solo."

"Wow, Tris," Steph said turning to her boyfriend, "I'm glad you raised your standards in girls."

"Or lowered them," Colin teased. "Depends on what perspective you're looking at it."

"Bastard," Steph said throwing a marshmallow at him.

"You're high on the standard list," Tristan told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Very high."

"You're just saying that in the hopes of getting lucky, mate," Finn laughed.

"Not true," Tristan protested.

"Cut the crap, Tris, you're getting laid, let's leave it at that," Steph said with a roll of her eyes, causing Rory to laugh. The sound of a light buzzing had her reaching into her bag.

"Mom?" Finn asked. Rory looked at the caller ID and nodded. She opened the phone and brought it up to her ear. Before she could greet her mother in the 'proper' way, her mother had started talking.

"What do Kirk, a parachute and Taylor have in common?" Her mother asked, seriously.

"Is this a serious question or are you just…"

"Come on, Rory, play with me! What do Kirk, a parachute and Taylor have in common?"

"If it's something dirty, I don't want to know," Rory said biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Rory!" Lorelai whined.

"Are you serious, are you really frustrated with me right now?"

"You're no fun!"

"I'm sorry," Rory said with a sigh, deciding it was better to humor her mother, " What do Kirk, a parachute and Taylor have in common?"

"Nothing!" Lorelai laughed. "But you put them together and it's one hell of a laugh!"

Rory shook her head. 'That was pointless."

"Hey, you would have been laughing if you had seen it!" Lorelai defended. "It was inappropriate in so many levels. I have pictures."

"Of course you do," Rory said with a roll of her eyes.

"So how are you kid?"

Rory patted Finn's knee and gestured that she was going to leave for a minute. He gave a nod taking her roasting stick as she stood up and walked a few feet away from the group.

"I'm good," she said sitting down in the sand and bringing her knees to her chest.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"How are those friends of yours treating you?"

"Good," Rory told her, "We're actually on the beach right now, having a bonfire and roasting marshmallows. And it think it'll be more fun now that there's another girl in the group."

"Really? Do tell mommy."

"Tristan's girlfriend, Stephanie, came to visit him."

"She pretty?"

"Yes," Rory nodded.

"Is she nice?"

"Very, she's Colin's cousin. Now enough about me, what about you? Is Luke back yet?"

"Very subtle. You know you've been avoiding talking about the Aussie."

"I have not!" Rory protested.

"But I'll humor you," Lorelai told her as if se had never spoken. "Luke is back, he's a bit spooked."

"Spooked?" Rory asked in confusion. Since when did Luke ever get spooked, the word afraid or timid didn't even cross her mind when thinking of her surrogate father.

"Yeah, Sookie and me went to the diner the other day to have lunch and when we asked him about his trip, he got spooked and switched the conversation to women's basketball."

"Wow, I wonder what's happened."

"Well, I'll tell you something, it's nothing good, we haven't seen Nicole around lately."

"I wonder what happened."

"I'll try and grill him later. Now let's talk about the Aussie."

"Mom."

"Rory!"

"Fine."

"So… What's he like?"

Rory bit her lip and turned her head, that was resting on her knees to look over at the person in question. As if he sensed her watching him, he turned and smiled at her. She smiled back and he sent her a wink. Rory went back to nibbling her lip.

"He's... indescribable," Rory admitted watching as Colin said something causing Finn to turn back.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"You wouldn't know subtlety if it bit you in the ass!" Steph yelled at Colin.

"Shut up, Steph!" Colin yelled back at his cousin.

"I love being friends with you people," Tristan smirked. "You're always good for some entertainment," he laughed as Steph threw marshmallows at him.

Finn smirked at the scene. Tristan was right, being friends with the McCrea cousins sure was entertaining. They fought constantly and repeatedly, mostly attacking each other's characters and dating choices. Though now that Steph was dating Tristan, most of the digs were at the blonde himself, but he took them lightly and shrugged them off, attacking back if the need be.

"Oh shut up, Colin!" Steph yelled.

"Nice come back!" Colin yelled.

"Even nicer one!" Steph yelled back, causing Finn to roll his eyes. He felt a shiver run down his spine and felt someone watching him. He turned around and found Rory looking at him. He smiled at her causing her to smile back. He sent her a wink and she said something into her phone while still looking at him.

"When are you going to ask her out?" Colin asked, causing Finn to turn back around.

"Hey Colin, feel that?" Steph asked.

"Feel what?" Colin asked confused turning to his cousin

'That little nip? Yeah, that was subtlety biting your ass."

"I'm ignoring you now," Colin said turning back to Finn. "So..."

"I don't think she's ready yet," Finn told him.

"She's more than ready," Tristan said.

"If you're thinking about fucking and leaving her, I'm telling you right now, don't," Steph told him. "From the few minutes I've talked to her, I like her and she's another girl."

Finn rolled his eyes. "I wasn't planning that. I really like her, truly like her. She's different from all the other girls," he admitted.

"But," Tristan prompted.

"She's been hurt, a lot," he said turning his head to look at her. She was laughing at something her mom said rocking back and keeping her balance with her toes. He turned back to the group and shrugged. "I don't want to end up hurting her too."

"Well," Steph smiled as she continued watching Rory, "From the looks of it, she really likes you too, truly likes you," she said repeating his earlier words. "And I think that you should let her decide on whether you're good for her or not."

"But-"

"Go," Steph said. "I don't like looking at your face for longer than necessary and the time limit ran out a few minutes ago," she said dismissing him with a hand.

Finn rolled his eyes, put the roasting sticks down and stood up, looking at Tristan who smirked. "You better get your bloody woman under control," he said.

"With that attitude I hope Rory turns you down," Tristan shouted after him. Finn smirked as he walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Well, I hope you figure out what's going on," Rory said into her phone turning to smile at Finn. "Ugh, I'm never going shopping with grandma again... Worse!" Rory exclaimed. "You know those dresses from the sixteen hundreds... yes, with the parasols and bonnets. Well, I now have one. Bonnet and all."

Finn could hear Lorelai laughter from where he was sitting and had to smile at Rory's agitated voice.

"It's not funny!" Rory whined. "Mom! Thank you! I'm going to go... I can't leave you in a time of need if you're not in need; and not being able to reach the remote doesn't count. One month," Rory smiled. "Love you too. Bye." Rory hung up her phone and shook her head turning to Finn.

"My mother is crazy."

"So I hear," Finn laughed. "How is she?"

"Fine. Our town is crazier than ever. Since we didn't take a break and travel around Europe, she's starting to work on the inn. Just figuring out the blueprint of what she wants."

"That's good."

"It is," Rory agreed. "It's been my mom's dream to open this inn for more than eighteen years and now... it's happening."

"That's great, love."

"It is, isn't it? It's like everything falling into place for my mom. Now if only I could find her a man."

Finn laughed. "What about for you?"

Rory shrugged. "I'm not sure about the man part."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really, why's that?"

She turned to look at him and he saw the shyness in her eyes "'Cause the man I like hasn't made a move yet." She bit her lip and turned away. In the faint moonlight he could make out the blush creeping up, then tinting her cheeks.

He smiled at her bluntness. "Well, I knew Colin liked you, but if the bastard hasn't made a move yet, then I'll go talk to him about it." Finn said starting to get up. Rory looked at him in disbelief as she pulled him back down.

"Are you serious?" She asked wide eyed.

He laughed. "Just pulling your chain, love."

"Well, I'm not fond of getting my chain yanked," Rory told him.

"I'm sorry," he said leaning forward, his hand cupping her cheek. "Would you be terribly upset if the man you liked made a move now?"

"I don't know," Rory smiled as he leaned forward. "Depends."

"On what?" He asked, his lips a breath away from hers.

"If he's a good kisser."

Finn smirked before closing the gap and brushing his lips against hers, once, twice then capturing her lips with his, causing her to scoot closer to him. Before the simple kiss could go further, he pulled back lightly.

"So?" He asked.

"I'm not terribly upset," she said opening her eyes and looking up at him with those blue orbs.

"Good to hear," he muttered before going back in and kissing her again.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_


	5. The Perfect Night

_**Part 5: The Perfect Night**_

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Rory pulled away from Finn and looked up to see Logan with his date on his arm.

"Stop being an ass, Logan," Finn said easily.

"Who's being an ass?" Logan asked, acting offended. "Surely not I?" Rose giggled as Logan led her back to the bonfire.

Finn rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for Logan."

"It's okay, he doesn't like me, I can live with it." She checked her watch and smiled slightly at him. "It's getting late, I have to go before my grandmother sends out a search party for me." She stood up and Finn got up after her.

"I'll walk you back," Finn said. They went back to the bonfire, so Rory could grab her bag.

"Leaving already?" Logan asked.

"Unlike all of you who are on your own, I have grandparents I must get back to," Rory said in a sweet voice. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and put it in her bag.

"See you later, Rory," Steph said standing up and hugging her. Rory hesitated, but hugged her back. "We have to go shopping."

"If you're nothing like my grandmother, I'll take you up on that," Rory laughed. "See you guys later. Some sooner than others," she said casting a glance at Logan.

"I'll be back," Finn laughed, turning and leading Rory away. Without realizing it he grabbed her hand as he led her down the beach.

Colin smirked and looked at Logan. "Pay up."

Logan shook his head and returned the smirk. "The bet was that they would be together, not just kissing. Anyone can kiss a girl."

Tristan laughed and shook his head. "Rory isn't the type of a girl to just kiss a random guy, Logan. If she kissed Finn, it was because she liked him."

"Didn't she kiss you?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," Tristan said slowly, not sure where he was going with it.

"And she hated you," Logan said.

"Now wait. She had just broken up with Dean the day before and I had broken up with Summer five minutes before. We kissed and if I remember correctly, she left the room crying."

"Thus she can kiss guys that aren't her boyfriends meaning I pay nothing. Not until they're officially together."

"How long do you think it'll take?" Colin asked.

Tristan looked down at the beach where Rory and Finn were walking, hands linked and smirked. "My say is that they're both idiots and it'll take them at least till the end of the month to make it official."

"Finn's not making anything official," Logan said, staring at the pair as well. "He loves women as much as me. And Colin. Plus she's not a redhead."

"Logan, my man," Colin laughed, "I think he's making an exception."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Are they still staring?" Rory asked.

Finn laughed. "I don't give a damn, love."

Finn pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they walked back to her house. He liked her, that much was obvious, but was he willing to let loose all the other girls to be with her? Finn looked down at her, she was looking at the waves roll in, a slight smile on her face. He would never know unless he tried, right?

"Love?"

Rory looked up at him with a brilliant smile. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Probably watch some movies, read a book and go to sleep from a sugar-induced coma," she laughed ."Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe you'd like to go out with me?"

"Like in a group?" She asked as they stopped at her back gate.

"No, like with just me?"

He watched as a blush crossed her features. "Finn, are you asking me out?"

"I believe I am."

Rory smiled. "Then I guess I will accept."

"Great. I'll pick you up at seven."

Rory smiled. "Go around front this time," she told him. "I think my grandparents might want to meet you."

"All right." He started to back away when she pulled him forward. "Yes, love?"

"Two things. One, what are we doing?"

"It's a surprise," he told her.

"All right, I'll bug you about that later, but I need to know what to wear."

"Something nice," he told her. "Though anything you put on will look amazing."

"Charm will get you everywhere," Rory laughed.

"The second thing?"

Rory bit her lip before kissing his lips lightly. He didn't get a chance to respond to the kiss as she pulled back, just as he gathered his senses to kiss her back.

"See you tomorrow, Finn," she said quietly, leaving him dumbfounded at her gate as she went towards her house.

Finn blinked watching her retreating back, expelled the air he hadn't known he'd been holding and walked back to the bonfire. With a smile he sat back down and grabbed another marshmallow, eight pairs of eyes watching him expectantly. Rose was looking elsewhere.

"Well?" Steph asked. "What happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, love," Finn smirked as he blew on the toasted fluff ball.

"With Rory, you idiot," Tristan said. "What happened with Rory?"

"Calling me names will get you nowhere," Finn pointed out.

"Finn, just tell us," Colin sighed, knowing the it was probably good if their Australian friend was being this impossible.

"Well, I walked her back and asked her out," Finn said with a smile.

"She said no, right?" Tristan asked.

"No, she said yes. I'm taking her out tomorrow. Then she kissed me."

"And cried?" Tristan asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Logan asked.

"No," Finn said looking at the fire with a smile. "We're just going out on a date. Hopefully with more to follow."

"She's not a redhead," Logan pointed out.

Finn looked over at his friend, his smile fading. "What does that have anything to do with it?"

"You've had your fetish for redheads for years," Logan said. "You can't just... disappoint the redheads of the world now."

Finn frowned. "I am and I will. I like Rory."

"For now."

"No, mate," Finn said standing up. "I don't think this feeling is going to go away any time soon. I'm off. See you all later." Finn turned and walked up towards their house.

"Logan, leave Finn alone," Steph warned him. "He likes Rory and I think he's past the point of anyone talking him out of it."

"There's still time," Logan muttered.

"Why are you so against Rory, man," Tristan asked. "She's a great girl, perfect for Finn. If it doesn't work out for them, then fine, whatever. But if it does, it would be for the best. They both deserve someone like the other in their lives. And none of us has the right to say otherwise. So I say let it go. Rory's here to stay. Not just because of Finn, but because she's my friend, she's Colin's friend. Hell, once Steph gets to know her, they're probably going to be friends. So let it go."

"Fine," Logan said. "I still say it's a bad idea."

"And I still say that you should leave it alone," Tristan said, taking Steph's hand and helping her up.

"We're off, see you guys later," Steph said as she let Tristan lead her up to the house.

Colin sighed. "I'm tired, I'll leave you and Rose alone." He threw his roasting stick in the fire. "Finn's happy, Logan. If this thing with him and Rory works out, I think it might be the best thing that ever happened to him. Night."

"Night," Rose said giddily. Colin shook his head as he went up to the house, leaving Logan staring at the fire.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory climbed down the stairs. She was going to watch some TV before joining her grandparents for lunch. She was about to go towards the TV room when she heard someone knock on the door. Not seeing the day maid in sight, she went to the door and answered.

"Hey girlie."

"Hey Steph," Rory laughed letting her in. "What are you doing here?"

"The guys were going down to the beach, to do all macho stuff. You know, the 'which way to the beach and flexing their muscles' crap. Except for Colin, he doesn't have muscles. Now Tristan… ha. He has some muscle."

"Nice to know," Rory laughed closing the door and leading her into the living room. "But that still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

"Do you really think I want to spend Tristan's money with Rose?"

"You want to go shopping?" Rory asked.

"Desperately. Plus we can get you an outfit for your date tonight."

"Date?" Emily Gilmore asked. "Rory, you have a date?"

"Sorry," Steph murmured as they both turned to face Emily.

"Yeah, grandma, I do."

"With who? Is it Logan?" She asked hopefully, causing Steph to snort. Emily looked at Stephanie in disbelief while Rory coughed to cover up her laugh.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Steph said with a smile.

"Of course."

"I'm Stephanie McCrea," she said sticking out her hand.

"Any relation to Andrew?" Emily asked shaking it.

"He's my uncle. " Stephanie nodded.

"Ah, good man. Richard does business with him."

"Only good words have been said about your family, Mrs. Gilmore. I was actually wondering, in light of Rory's date and all, if it would be possible to steal her away for lunch?"

"Of course," Emily said. "Rory, go on, have fun. You have your grandfather's credit card if you need anything."

"I don't feel comfortable using it, grandma."

"Nonsense! Use it, we trust you."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked.

"You heard the woman," Steph muttered. "They trust you, now take the money and let's go."

"Go on, have fun. We'll see you later," Emily smiled.

"All right," Rory said. "Let me go grab my purse and we'll go," she told Stephanie.

Rory rushed up and after getting her purse and bidding good bye to her grandmother, she ran out of the house with Stephanie. They got into her black sports car and sped into town.

"So your grandmother is trying to set you up with Logan?" Steph laughed.

"Apparently."

"Do they know that he-" Steph trailed off, not sure if the brunette knew of Logan's dislike for her.

"That he hates me? No, I don't think she knows."

"Ah, but you do," Steph pointed out.

"Yes, it hard to ignore the veiled insults."

"Logan is a master at them. They all are, but Logan is, well, Logan."

"I don't see what all the girls see in him. He's not all that cute."

"Bite your tongue!" Steph laughed. "If you say that anywhere near the girls he dates-"

"They'd attack?"

"Claws, baby," Steph laughed.

Rory laughed as well "You know, Steph, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"My thoughts exactly," Steph laughed as she gunned the engine down the small streets of Martha's Vineyard.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey babe," Tristan greeted as they walked into the house to see Steph watching TV, her feet propped up on the table. "How was your day?"

"Me and Rory had lots of fun," Steph told him as the guys all sat down.

"What'd you do?" Colin asked.

"Well, I picked her up and we went for lunch, down at the Sea Shore Shack. Man, that girl can pack it in."

"We know," Tristan laughed.

"Then we went shopping." Steph grabbed her purse from the table and rummaged through her purse, pulling out a credit card and handing it to Tristan. "Thank you."

Tristan looked at it sadly, turning it over in his fingers. "It looks tired."

"Trust me, Rory's feels the same. That girl was very hesitant to spend money, but ten minutes with me, top of the line clothes and a dressing room, she can spend like no other."

Finn shook his head. "You're terrible, love."

"Ah, ah, ah," Steph negated shaking her finger at him. "You won't be saying that when you see the outfit she got for your date. Oh, FYI she likes sunflowers."

"Thanks," Finn said.

"Oh, by the way," she turned to Logan who had been silent through the entire conversation. "Her grandparents want to set you two up," she told him. "But she's against it. Apparently she doesn't think you're that cute."

The guys laughed while Logan scowled. "Yeah, well-"

Steph raised her eyebrow. "What, no comeback?"

"Shut up, Steph," Logan muttered.

Finn looked at his watch and got up. "I have to go get ready."

"Sunflowers, Finn," Steph shouted after him as he climbed the steps.

"Thanks, Steph," Finn shouted back.

Steph gave a smile of self-satisfaction.

"What are you so smug about?" Colin asked.

"I'm just thinking how great Finn and Rory look together."

Logan gave a growl of dissatisfaction before getting up and climbing up the stairs.

"And I love goading Logan," Steph laughed, causing Tristan to shake his head at his girlfriend.

"Sometimes you are too evil for your own good."

"And you love me," she said kissing him.

"Gross," Colin muttered looking away.

"Ah," Steph sighed, leaning back. "Now to get Colin a girl... or a guy. I mean... how are you swinging these days, Colin?"

"Shut up, Steph," Colin glared, causing her to stick out her tongue at him.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory walked out of the bathroom in her blue robe, towel drying her hair. Opening her closet she got out the dress that her and Steph had picked out for her date and smiled.

Steph had not only proven to be the perfect gal pal, but a perfect shopping partner. Though Rory loved Lane, being her best friend and being able to do everything and talk about anything with the Korean drummer, Lane lived in Stars Hollow and now that Rory was going to Yale, she knew that visits and calls would be far and few in between.

And though Paris was crazy and neurotic... well, Paris didn't really put out that bosom buddy front. Luckily, Paris was going nowhere near Yale.

A slight knock on the door had Rory walking over and smiling at her grandmother.

"Your mother's on the phone," Emily told her.

"Oh thanks, grandma."

"I'll be downstairs. Will your date be picking you up in the front or through the back, seeing as that's where everyone seems to be picking you up lately?" Emily asked as she handed Rory the phone.

"The front, at seven. He's very punctual, grandma."

"We'll see about that." Rory watched as her grandmother walked down the hall. Closing her door she put the phone to her ear.

"You're calling early." Instead of hearing her mother's response, she heard a slight scream and a thump, causing Rory to wince. "You okay?"

"Jesus! You scared me!"

"Sorry."

"I mean, I'm put on hold for ten minutes, then this voice appears out of nowhere and tells me I'm calling early! If that's not a sign from god, I have no idea what is!"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's dramatics. "Once again I apologize."

"It's all right."

"So you called early?" Rory asked.

"Well, I had to talk to your grandfather about some stuff for the inn."

"Stuff?"

"Insurance policies, all boring."

"Oh."

"And then I got handed to mom who told me you were going on a date!"

"Oh that."

""Oh that!' she says," Lorelai exclaimed. "Not only am I an afterthought now, but I had to hear about this from my mother. _My mother_!"

"Sorry."

"'I'm so glad that Rory is finally going out, Lorelai.' 'I know mom, she's made some great friends down there.' 'Oh, I don't mean her friends, Lorelai.' 'Well, then what, mom?' 'I mean her date.'" Lorelai said, changing her voice to effectively reenact the conversation that had probably taken place not five minutes earlier.

"I'm sorry, I meant to call and tell you."

"You meant!"

"I just got busy," Rory explained going to the bathroom and turning on the curling iron while combing out her hair. "I came home last night and went to bed. Then today I ended up spending the day shopping with Steph."

"For?"

"For?" Rory repeated confused.

"What did you shop for? My god, you're slow today."

"Sorry, excited. Steph and I went shopping for clothes and ended up getting an outfit for my date."

"Then I forgive you," Lorelai said. Rory sighed, all that had been for nothing. "So who's the boy? Oh wait! Let me guess! Finn!"

"Yeah, it's Finn."

"Ah, Rory, you like him!" Lorelai accused.

"A lot. He kissed me last night."

"Good kisser?"

"It wasn't like..."

"Tongue in mouth?"

"No!" Rory exclaimed, a bit uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. Though she and her mother talked about everything, kissing techniques and sex... were awkward. As it was with any mother or father. It was awkward.

'Then what?"

"It just was…" Rory smiled putting her brush down, "It was perfect."

"You sound giddy."

"I am giddy," Rory laughed.

"Well then, I'm going to let you go. Only because I want you to look perfect for your date! But!"

"I knew there was one coming," Rory said getting out her dryer.

"You have to call the minute you get home! I don't care what time it is!"

"Promise."

"Good, have fun, babe."

"I will, bye mom."

"Bye sweets."

Rory hung up the phone and looked at herself in the mirror. Excitement and happiness filled her features. Smiling at herself she turned on the dryer and started to dry her hair running her fingers through the long locks. This was going to be great.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn pulled his black SUV in front of the Gilmores' summer house and turned off the car. Looking at the house and taking a deep breath he grabbed the two bouquets of flowers and the box of cigars out from the passenger's seat before getting out of the car and walking to the door.

Taking another deep breath he knocked. He couldn't remember a time he was this nervous in meeting parents or grandparents. Then again he always skipped this step and just took the girls out, avoiding any parental figure at all costs. He wasn't the only one, Colin did it as well. And well, Logan avoided parents like the plague, even his own whenever possible.

The door opened and Emily Gilmore smiled at him.

"Eugene, correct?" She asked letting him into the house.

Finn nodded walking in. "Yes ma'am. Though most people just call me Finn. Short for Finnegan."

"Which is?"

"My middle name, ma'am."

"How charming," she laughed. "Please, come in." She led him into the living room where Richard was sitting. Upon seeing him enter, Richard stood up with a smile.

"Ah, Eugene I presume?"

Finn held in the wince. How they had found out his first name he'd never known. As far as he was concerned, he had those documents hidden.

"Please, call me Finn, sir."

"No 'sir', call me Richard."

"I brought these for you," Finn said, handing the cigars to Richard.

"Romeo y Julietas! These are my favorites, hard to come by."

"I have connections." And had spent an hour begging Logan to get them to him. "And these are for you," he said handing the bright mixture of roses to Emily.

"My, these look wonderful. Brighten up the room, don't they, Richard?"

"They certainly do," Richard smiled.

"I'll go get Rory," Emily said going to the stairs.

"So Finn, Rory tells me you go to Yale," Richard said gesturing for him to sit. Finn nodded as he sat down, Richard sitting across from him.

"Yes, sir. I'm going to be a junior though my friends and I are taking the next year off."

"Yes," Richard laughed. "Rory is probably more excited about it than you yourself are."

Finn laughed. "Yes, she's been wanting to know everything we have planned ever since she found out."

"She's a traveler that one, it's a pity she couldn't experience Europe like she had wanted. But her grandmother is very manipulative when she wants to be. Can't love Emily less for it though."

Finn smiled and nodded. "I can't say I'm not glad Rory didn't go off to Europe, probably wouldn't have met her if she had."

"I like your thinking, son. You know, you and your father are very much alike."

Finn brightened at the comment. "My father's a good man."

"That he is, a bit eccentric from the times I met him, but a good man nonetheless."

Finn laughed, not taking the comment offensively. "If anything, my father is eccentric."

"Rory's coming," Emily said coming down the stairs. "She said she couldn't find her shoes. How she can find anything in that disaster of a room, I will never know."

"Oh grandma," Rory said coming down the stairs, causing Finn and Richard to stand. "It's not that bad. You should see our house on a laundry day, now that is a disaster," she laughed. She smiled at Finn. "Hey."

"Hey," he said expelling the breath he had held in when he saw her walking down the stairs.

She was wearing a loose strapless white dress that fell to her knees, her brown hair loose and curling around her shoulders, a diamond headband holding the hair away from her face. If she had makeup on, he couldn't tell. All he could see was the lip gloss she had on her lips making them look slick and more pouty than they usually looked. All in all she looked even more innocent and pure than normal, He'd have to thank Steph for that.

He leaned down and picked up the sunflowers he had gotten for her. "I heard you liked sunflowers."

Rory smiled taking them and cradling them in her arms. "Thanks, Finn."

"Here, I'll put these in water," Emily said taking them out of Rory's hands. "And put them in your room."

"Thanks, grandma."

"You're welcome. Now, if Richard is done grilling the boy..."

"I was not grilling the boy, Emily," Richard said buttoning his suit jacket.

"Of course you weren't," Emily said rolling her eyes. "Go you two, have fun."

"Thanks, grandma."

Finn turned to Emily, not sure how to phrase the question on his lips. "I was wondering…"

"Yes?" Emily asked.

"If you wanted Rory home by a certain time?" Rory stopped and looked at Finn, a slight smile on her face. Emily looked at Richard who also smiled. She turned back to Finn and shook her head.

"A reasonable hour. She has a key if she's home late."

"Yes, ma'am," Finn said. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." Emily led them out, practically pushing them out the door. "Have fun." She closed the door and turned to Richard.

"Well, I'll be damned, when was the last time a boy asked that?" Richard asked.

"I like him, Richard."

"So do I, Emily. So do I."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn opened her door and held out a hand to help her in. Before stepping into the car she turned and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"What was that for, love?"

"With one question you just got my grandparents to like you."

"What?" He asked confused. She shook her head and got in the car with a smile. Still confused he closed her door and ran around getting behind the wheel.

"So where are you going?" She asked buckling her seatbelt, then turning to face him.

Turning on the car and putting on his own seatbelt he smirked as he drove out of the Gilmore estate and down the street.

"Somewhere."

"You're good at the vague, but not good enough. I have broken many a person whenever they try to hide something from me."

"I doubt that," Finn said turning at a corner.

Rory smiled. "I can be very annoying when I need to be."

"That I do not doubt. Now, tell me what you meant with the one question thing?"

"You're going with distraction, very well, I'll play along."

"I'm not going with anything," Finn said, glancing over at her smiling figure. "I am genuinely curious."

"Of course you are," Rory said rolling her eyes. "I'll tell you anyway. You asked the one question that almost no guy asks."

"What's that?" Finn asked.

"'What time should she be home by?'"

"I didn't want to keep you out if you had to be back by a certain hour. I know that you usually leave our gatherings early in case your grandparents worry."

"I know, Finn," Rory reassured him, placing a hand on his arm. "But almost no guy asks that. I know that my dad probably never asked my grandparents what time he should bring my mom home by, and I know my mom usually told Dean what time to bring me home by, and Jess never bothered with the particulars, mostly because he worked late so we saw each other whenever."

Finn glanced over at her, she was still smiling at him.

"And then you walked in," Rory continued. "Probably charmed the pants off my grandpa."

"Not even I'm that talented, love."

Rory laughed. "Got my grandmother to like you, and then you ask one simple question and they love you. Trust me, you did a very good thing, Finn."

"Huh," Finn said pulling into a parking lot. "Who knew a simple question like that would get me accepted. I'll have to share that with the guys," he smirked at her and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"We're here?" Rory asked looking out the window.

"How was that for distraction?" Finn asked as he got out of the car, pocketed the keys and walked over to her side opening the door and helping her out. He locked the car and led her inside a small private restaurant, telling the waiter his last name. They were ushered to a small private table in a secluded corner of the restaurant, lit by a dim overhead lamp and a candle.

"Here you go, Mr. Rothschild," the waiter said. Finn held out Rory's chair as she sat pushing it in for her, then sitting down across from her at the table for two. "Would you like a drink?"

Finn scanned the drinks menu and looked at Rory. "Do you want something?"

"Club soda," she told the waiter.

"Mr. Rothschild?"

"The same," he said.

"Finn, get something to drink, I don't mind," Rory told him.

"Club soda is fine," he told the waiter as he hesitated at the table. He nodded and left to fulfill the orders.

"Finn, you could have gotten something."

"I'm fine," Finn laughed. "Just because I'm twenty-one, it doesn't mean I have to drink every minute of the day."

"I think you hold back because of me, but I'll let it slide," Rory laughed.

"Thanks, love," he smiled at Rory. "You know, I don't think I've told you how wonderful you look tonight." He had the pleasure to see a blush tint her cheeks.

"Thanks, you don't look bad yourself."

Finn looked down at his appearance of black dress jeans and a dark blue button down shirt, the first few buttons undone.

"Thank you," Finn laughed.

They slid into a familiar conversation, talking about their days, how much fun Rory had had with Steph that afternoon and how the guys had just fooled around at the beach. They talked about their families and Rory's conversation with her mother and about the conversation Finn had with his father earlier in the day.

"My family is fucked up, love," Finn laughed.

"You say that like it's a good thing," Rory said taking a sip of her club soda. She thanked the waiter as he put her food in front of her and Finn gave a nod and a smile as his food got placed in front of him.

"Anything else, just call," the waiter said before walking away.

"My family is unique," Finn told her getting his fork. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You know, you haven't told me much about your family. I know bits and pieces."

"Ah, only the normal bits and pieces, the sordid details I left out."

"Oh," Rory said leaning forward. "Do tell." Finn hesitated a bit, causing Rory to lean back. "Of course if you're comfortable with it."

"Oh," Finn said laughing. "I'm very comfortable talking about it. I'm just not sure what your reaction will be to it."

"I'm a very open-minded person, Finn."

"I know that," Finn nodded. "Let's start with the reason behind my parents' divorce."

Rory smiled at how easily he talked about it and leaned forward, grabbing her own fork and starting in on her food.

"Do tell."

"Well, it all began when my mother caught my father one day in their room, him with one of her dresses on, and no, it wasn't Halloween."

"You mean-"

"Yes, my father is a cross dresser," Finn laughed. Rory gave a light chuckle and shook her head. "I don't love him any less for it. In fact, I've become quite used to it."

"I can only imagine."

"Well, my mother is a very well cultured lady, she was appalled by my father's behavior and quickly and quietly divorced him. My father left for Hartford and shortly after I followed. Apparently my mother was afraid I'd follow in his footsteps."

"But you didn't?"

"Not in that sense, no," Finn told her. "But my father is a good man, I get a lot from him."

"Really?"

"Of course. I always won costume contests at my schools."

Rory laughed. "I'm just imagining you at fifteen and you and your father going through racks of costumes, finding the best one."

Finn nodded. "I admire my father," he told her. "He's very professional when it comes to work. Though many know his fetish with women's clothes, it doesn't change the fact that he's good at what he does."

"What does he do?" Rory asked.

"We Rothschilds own hotels. The best of the best and in the most exotic and convenient places."

"What a coincidence, what with my mom owning an inn and all."

"It's fate."

"Fate," Rory repeated with a nod. "You father sounds like an interesting man."

"Oh, he is. You'll have to meet him sometime."

"I would love that," Rory told him. "But what about your mother?"

"You want to meet my mother?" Finn asked

"No," she laughed, then shook her head. "I didn't mean that. I meant... what is she up to?"

"Oh, my mum lives in Australia, like I told you, with my sisters. Though my oldest sister moved out a few years back. She owns all properties that my dad owned there before he moved. So the hotels he owned now belong to my mum and are run by my sister."

"Are you planning on taking over the ones that your dad owns here?"

"I'm not sure," Finn said scratching his jaw. "My father and I have talked about it. He's more open about my future than Logan and Colin's parents. He's open to anything. If I want to take over, he's fine with it. If I want to do something else, he's fine with that. Mostly because I'm not the firstborn. Mila is. Secondly, because he loves his work and wouldn't want anyone taking over from him unless he's in the ground."

Rory nodded. "I know what you mean. My mom is loving the idea of owning and running her own inn. I don't think she would sell or let anyone take on the responsibility. She loves it too much to give it up."

"Looks like we have a lot in common, love."

"That we do," she smiled.

The ate in a comfortable silence, saying a few choice words here and there, commenting on the food or little things about themselves. While they were waiting for dessert, Rory had asked Finn about his high school and ended up discussing prom.

"Ah, I was in Switzerland that year. Zugerberg, with Colin and Logan."

"God, that must have been great."

"Beautiful area," Finn nodded. "Beautiful women."

Rory gave a light chuckle. "Of course."

He loved that she wasn't uncomfortable with his talk of the girls he dated. She seemed at ease with it. He liked that. Most girls would have been uncomfortable talking about the women he had dated in the past.

"So tell me about your prom," Rory prompted.

"I took a redhead, Camille, I believe her name was. Beautiful young lady. Danced the night away, ate, drank the smuggled scotch and fell into bed around four. Woke up around four the next afternoon and had pancakes in bed," Finn laughed. "Best night of my life thus far. This is coming a close second." He watched the blush creep back on her face. He loved making her blush, he found it quite easy to do.

"What about yours, love?"

He watched her eyes cast downwards and start chewing on her lip. When she looked back up, she gave a light smile. "I didn't go to prom. Jess..."

"Right," he gave a nod, remembering the first day he had met her and the story of Jess leaving before prom.

"But," she continued, "My mom, being the wonderful woman she is, blasted music in our house, covered it in tacky decorations, got all the junk food we needed and we danced around our living room in our pajamas, bright pink feather boas and plastic crowns, falling where we landed in sugar-induced comas and waking up with back and neck aches around three the next afternoon, with sugar hangover and begged for coffee at Luke's."

"Sounds fun," he laughed.

"That's my mother for you," Rory said playing with her fork. "It was great, but a part of me still wishes I could have experienced the traditional prom. Going in a limo, dressing up in an amazing dress, dancing and making fun of people. Lane and me had it all planned. But my mom made it perfect."

"I bet she did," Finn murmured, squeezing her hand. The waiter came with their dessert and set it down, along with the check, placing it face down. Before Rory could reach for it which he knew she would, he grabbed it and looked at it, taking out his wallet and taking out his card.

"Finn, let me pay for some."

"Funny girl," he told her, sending her a smirk. "You always know how to make me laugh."

"I'm serious!"

Finn laughed. "You're a crack up."

"At lease tell me how much it is," Rory asked.

"Nope." He waved the waiter over and handed him the check and his card instead of putting it back on the table and waiting. If he left it on the table, he knew Rory would look at it and probably demand to pay for some of it.

"I'll be back with your receipt and card, Mr. Rothschild."

"Take your time," Finn told him as he walked away. He turned back to her and smiled at her annoyed face. "What?"

"I don't like when guys pay for the whole meal. I eat a lot and I feel bad about people paying."

"It's a date, the man pays."

"That is sexist. Nowadays the women pay as well."

"Ah, but the first date rule still stands."

"What first date rule?" Rory asked confused.

"You see," he said leaning in as if it were an FBI secret. "In the man's world, all men have to pay on the first date. See, then in the women's eyes it looks like we're willing to pay all the time. Sure, we'll pay on the second date and the third date, but then, once a man feels comfortable with the woman, we start splitting checks, then once you become comfortable with that, we start forgetting our wallets. It's all a master plan," Finn told her.

Rory leaned back and widened her eyes as if amazed. "It's genius," Rory told him. "Pure genius. I have to tell Steph about this."

"No!" Finn told her. "You see, if women know about this, then the scale is tipped and then there would be more skipping out on checks."

Rory laughed. "The way your mind works."

"Ah, but you see, I'm different."

"Really, how so?"

"On a date, no matter how many times I go out with a woman, I never let her pay. It's only the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Plus," Rory added, "It probably increases your chances on getting laid."

Finn laughed and nodded. "And there's that."

"It amazes me how much of a charming pig you can be."

"Thank you," he said bowing in his chair.

They finished their dessert, the waiter came back and handed Finn the card and receipt back. Once Rory had gathered her things, they left. Finn led her out and helped her once again in the car and drove her home, falling into the quick banter they were fond of. Once back at the house, Rory checked her watch.

"Eleven o'clock. Very reasonable," she told him.

"I planned it that way," Finn told her egotistically. Rory rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Finn, this has been perfect."

"You're very welcome. I can only hope you will grace me with your presence again."

"It would be an honor," Rory told him truthfully. "Thank you."

"It was fun, I enjoyed this."

"I did too."

He walked her to the door, she got the keys out of her purse and opened the door, stepping in.

"Any chance of a goodnight kiss?"

"I don't know," Rory said leaning against the doorjamb. "I'm not a girl that kisses on the first date."

"Ah, well, I'm not a man that kisses and tells."

"Well then, it'll be our secret." Rory leaned in and kissed him lightly, both knowing it wasn't the time or place to take it further than innocent kisses.

"Good night Rory," he told her.

"Night Finn." She watched him get in his car and gave one last wave before closing the door, locking it and running up the stairs. She quickly got out of the dress and put on her pajamas, washed her face and got under the covers of her bed all in ten minutes as she dialed her cell phone.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Lorelai answered giddily.

Rory sat up and moved her legs excitedly before bringing them up to her chest. "It was perfect," Rory told her.

"Details! I want details!"

"Well, it all started with-"

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_


	6. Twenties

_**Part 6: Twenties**_

Finn looked in the mirror, running a hand through his hair one last time before leaving his room and running down the stairs.

"Hey man," Logan greeted as Finn grabbed his wallet from the table and stuffed in his back pocket. "There's a crazy party a few streets down, hot girls galore."

"Can't," Finn said distractedly, checking his pockets one last time. Wallet? Check, he thought. Present? Check. He patted his front pocket.

"Why are you so nervous?" Steph asked teasingly from her position on Tristan's lap. "You and Rory have been going out for a month. I'd think you'd be used to going out with her by now."

"Ah," Finn told her. "But tonight is different."

"How so?" Colin asked.

"I don't want to jinx it. Time?"

"Seven," Tristan said checking his watch.

"Good. I have got to get going. Have fun at the party," Finn told them as he grabbed his jacket. He grabbed a blanket he left on the chair earlier. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck on whatever you're doing," Steph laughed.

"Remember, you're too young to get married," Colin said.

"And too young to be having sex," Tristan said in his best fatherly voice.

"I'll remember that," Finn laughed as he left the living room and walked down beach towards the Gilmore house. His nerves were getting the best of him. Everything was going to go fine, he thought as he reached the back gate of the Gilmore house and walked up.

Rory had been right on their first date. The one question he had asked had put him in the elder Gilmores' good side, almost welcoming him to the family immediately. From what Rory had said, they didn't care that Logan was a Huntzberger anymore or that he was a good connection for Rory to have. Apparently they wouldn't stop raving about him and what a good influence that Finn boy was having on their granddaughter.

He chuckled lightly as he gave a slight knock on the glass slider.

"Finn, my boy," Richard said opening it up and letting him in. "No need to knock."

"Sorry, Richard, it's a habit. Living with three guys and a girl for the past three months, people tend to knock for their own safety," he told him with a laugh.

"Yes, I remember my days at Yale, seemed knocking was a lost habit back then."

"Ah Finn," Emily greeted. "Rory's in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on your picnic."

"She didn't cook anything, did she?" Finn asked slightly frightened. They had had an experience with Rory in the Huntzberger kitchen, trying to bake cookies. Five fire extinguishers and a bucket of water had been used to put the fire at bay. After that Logan had banned Rory from setting a foot in the kitchen at his house.

"No, I didn't," Rory said walking out, carrying a picnic basket on her arm. Even in jeans and a screen tee she looked amazing. Her hair was piled up in a high ponytail, "The cook made everything. You're safe."

Finn gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go."

"Have fun, you two," Emily shouted after them as they walked out the back way towards the beach. He grabbed her free hand and brought her closer, kissing the top of her head.

"Hello kitten."

Rory smiled. "Hi back. You know, Steph told me about some awesome party a few streets down."

"Yeah, I heard about that," he said, looking down at her.

"And..."

"And I want to spend the night with you." She raised an eyebrow and he groaned. "I didn't mean it like that." She gave him a teasing look. "It's not that I don't want to... You're doing that on purpose."

"It's fun to see you tongue-tied. I know what you mean, Finn. But if you want, after we have dinner we can go."

"It's okay, I actually sort of have something planned."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." He stopped and got the blanket form under his arm and spread it out on the sand. He sat down, taking off his shoes and brought her down with him. Setting down the basket between them, she got out the plates and glasses.

"Let's see, we've got all the picnic essentials. Let me tell you, it took some convincing to let me bring this."

"Let's hear it," Finn said letting her pull out the food.

"We've got apple cider, only the best for a Gilmore," Rory said pulling out a bottle of apple cider and setting it down.

"Of course."

"Then we've got bologna and cheese sandwiches with the works. Plus potato salad, with fresh potatoes, none of that processed crap. And for dessert, cheesecake."

"That sounds perfect."

"Good," Rory said, pulling out the sandwiches that were in plastic sandwich bags, along with the container of potato salad.

"Have you talked to your mum?" He asked as he heaped a healthy serving of the salad on his plate.

"Actually no," Rory told him. "She's been calling earlier since we've been going out, catching me before I leave. But when I called today, I got the answering machine. I called her cell and got her voicemail. I called Luke and he said he hadn't seen her all day, then called Sookie and Sookie said that mom's car wasn't there and the house was locked up."

"Is that odd?" Finn asked.

"That the house is locked or that mom's nowhere to be seen?"

"Both," Finn clarified grabbing a fork. Rory moved the basket behind them after filling her plate and leaned against him.

"The house part yes, Stars Hollow has a low crime rate. No, sorry, let me correct that, it has no crime rate. So we very rarely lock our house during the day and everyone knows that the spare key is under the turtle, so there's really no point in locking the door if people know where the spare key is anyway."

"Good point."

"And my mom missing, that's not really weird. She's been talking about going to Hartford and starting to get sample things for the inn, you know trimmings, paint samples, pictures of furniture. So she probably headed there. Or she's shopping. I'm not that worried. She'll show up and leave a message. I'll call back later."

Finn could tell Rory was a bit worried. Her mother called everyday to talk about everything. Even during their dates Lorelai would call, just to bug Rory. Not that it bugged either of them. He had a feeling that he would like Lorelai if he met the woman. And Rory seemed to look up to her mother.

"She'll call, love," he said kissing her cheek.

"I know," Rory told him. "So what'd you do all day?"

Finn hesitated. He had been a nervous wreck all day, trying to figure out the best way to go along with his plan without getting shot down. "You know, the usual. We went to lunch, ate, talked."

"Shared your feelings?" Rory teased.

"Yes," he humored her. "Tristan cried a bit, even Logan got a bit teary-eyed."

"Tristan, I believe, Logan, was pushing it," Rory laughed pushing him slightly.

"I knew I should have gone with Colin," he told her with a laugh. "How was your day with Steph?"

"Great. We went to this little town and bought some clothes. I got this cute purse for my mom and a pair of shoes."

"For your mom?"

"No, for me," Rory laughed. "We also went a saw a movie, down at the theater."

"What movie?"

"_Cool Hand Luke_, they were playing classics."

"And that is a great movie."

"Yes, it is," Rory agreed. They slipped into silence as they finished their meal and listened to the waves roll in and crash against the surf. Finn put his plate down and wrapped his arm around Rory's shoulder, bringing her closer as she finished her food.

"Are you all right?" Rory asked.

"Perfectly fine, why, love?"

"You seem tense."

"Well-"

"What?" Rory asked setting her empty plate down.

"I wanted to ask you something."

Rory sat up and looked up at him fully. "You're nervous because you want to ask me something?"

"Yes."

"Well, what is it?" She asked with a slight laugh.

"Well, we've been going out for a month now, right?"

"Right," Rory agreed.

"And I was wondering if-" he leaned back a bit and put his hand in his pocket, taking out a small ring box. Rory's eyes widened.

"You're not-"

"No!" Finn said quickly. "No, I was wondering if you'd officially be my girlfriend," he said quickly.

Rory looked up at him and smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"But-"

"See, the way I see it, what we have here is much more than a summer thing. I like what we have."

"So do I," Rory admitted.

"And I think that even though I'll be in Fiji and you'll be in New Haven, we should still be together. I like the sound of 'No, I can't go home with you tonight. I have a girlfriend back home.'"

Rory laughed. "I like the sound of that too."

"So is that a yes?"

"That is a yes, definitely," Rory said.

"Oh thank god," Finn said slumping down in relief, causing Rory to laugh.

"You had doubts?"

"A twinge," he admitted.

"So what's in the box?" Rory asked curiously.

"That's right," he said opening it. "My class ring," he told her.

Rory gasped as he gave her the box. She took out the ring that dangled from a silver chain. It was a thick silver ring that had Finn's last name on it and the year he graduated on either side of his birthstone which was the aquamarine.

"I thought that maybe you could wear it. That way, when guys ask you out, you can say 'I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend, he's traveling around Fiji.'"

"Oh, that sounds so cool," Rory said with a laugh. "I like it."

He smiled back at her as he took the delicate chain from her fingers and slipped it around her neck clasping it. "Perfect."

"Absolutely," Rory said fingering the ring that laid on her sternum. She leaned against him, liking the feeling of his arm around her. Her boyfriend. She liked it. She had had two boyfriends before, but calling them her boyfriend hadn't made her feel this... excited about having a boyfriend.

"So," he began, causing her to look up at his green eyes. "Dessert?"

Rory laughed and pulled away as she grabbed the basket. She liked the feeling he elicited in her and she hoped it didn't go away anytime soon.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So how was last night?" Emily Gilmore asked as their breakfast plates were cleared.

"It was nice," Rory said, playing with the ring that laid on her neck.

"Anything special happened?" Richard asked.

"Um..." Rory bit her lip and gave a nod. "Yeah, Finn asked me to be his girlfriend."

"I thought you already were, sweetheart," Emily said.

"No," Rory said. "I think what Finn was doing beforehand was courting me," she laughed.

"Well, how sweet. It's nice that you found a boy that's so old-fashioned," Emily said with a sigh, as if remembering the days when boys would court her left and right.

"Rory, I like him," Richard said, putting his paper down.

"So do I, grandpa," Rory smiled. They heard the doorbell ring and the maid scurried to answer it.

"Hello, Mrs. Gilmore, Mr. Gilmore," Steph greeted as she walked into the dining room.

"Stephanie, it's so good to see you," Emily smiled.

"Wonderful to see you as well, Mrs. Gilmore."

"Now Stephanie, I think we've gotten past the formality. Please, call me Emily."

"Thank you, Emily," Stephanie smiled. "I actually came to see if I could steal Rory for a few hours. I wanted to go to some stores and then I was planning on meeting the boys for some lunch."

'Take her," Emily said in a teasing voice. "We're sick of her."

"Grandma!" Rory said. She turned to Steph. "Let me grab my purse."

"I'll wait outside," Steph said. "Emily, Mr. Gilmore."

"Richard, please," Richard said with a smile.

"Emily, Richard, I'll bring Rory back safe and sound."

"We trust you, Stephanie," Emily smiled.

"All right, let's go," Rory said ushering Stephanie out of the dining room and the house. Emily smiled at Richard.

"I like her too," Emily said.

"Rory seems to be fitting in just fine. She's made lasting friends and has a boyfriend, better than that tall one that she first had."

"Or the delinquent that left her."

"He's from a good family. Eccentric, I'll admit, but good family. Strong. He's polite as well."

"Perfect for our Rory."

"Yes, he is."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"All right," Steph said as she drove down the streets. "When me and Tris got back from the party, Finn was lying on the couch with a goofy smile. Now I can only assume you're the reason behind this smile." Steph glanced over at her friend to see her smiling and rubbing something at her neck. "What happened last night? Come on, dish!"

Rory smiled and turned in her seat explaining all the details of last night, from the picnic on the beach to Finn's nervousness to asking her to be his girlfriend to giving her his ring.

"Oh my god!" Steph squealed parking at the small shopping area and turning in her seat. "You have gotten one of the three stooges to settle down. For that you deserve ice cream," Steph said.

Rory laughed. "For that I deserve a pair of Jimmy Choos."

"We'll get those too. Come on, you have three hours before we have to meet the guys."

"Steph," Rory said as they walked into the first store. "You bring out the worst in me."

"And you love me for it."

Rory laughed as they ducked into the store and began their shopping spree.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So," Tristan asked as they sat down at an outside table of the Sea Shore Shack and waited for the girls to order. "What was that smile about last night?"

Finn grinned.

"Please, don't tell me you slept with Rory," Colin begged.

"No," Finn said. "I asked her to be my girlfriend."

Logan paused pushing in his chair and stared at his friend. "What?"

Finn looked over at him and nodded. "Yeah, last night. Gave her my class ring and everything."

"You mean the class ring you paid a hundred bucks for?" Logan asked. Colin sent him a withering glare, telling him silently to cut it out.

Finn shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"I just think you shouldn't have given her something that cost so much when it might not last."

"Logan, stop," Tristan warned, seeing that Finn was starting to get defensive.

"I'm just saying," Logan shrugged, resuming scooting in his chair.

"Hey boys," Steph said sitting at the empty chair next to Tristan and putting down her bags.

"Hey Steph," the boys chorused.

"Where's Rory?" Finn asked.

"Look at the boyfriend, getting worried," Steph teased. Finn sent her a mocking glare which she shrugged off. "She's coming, she wanted to try her mom again."

"What's going on?" Tristan asked. "Doesn't Lorelai call her everyday?"

"Yeah," Finn nodded. "But she didn't call yesterday and Rory hasn't been able to reach her."

They saw Rory coming in, phone attached to her ear, worry etched all across her face. She sat down in the empty seat between Finn and Steph, putting her bags down next to her, listening to the person on the other end.

"All right, thanks, Sookie. Call if you hear from mom... I know she's okay," Rory smiled slightly. "Yeah, maybe... I'll call him in a minute... Bye Sook." Rory hung up the phone with a frown.

"No luck?" Finn asked, kissing her lightly.

"No. Sookie says that Babette didn't see mom come home at all last night. Sookie says she might have gone to visit my dad, but I highly doubt that."

"She'll call soon, love," Finn said rubbing her arm.

"Yeah, I know." She put the phone in her purse. She grabbed a menu and smiled. "So what did you guys do all morning?"

Colin told her about their morning while Finn was watching her with worried eyes. He could tell that not talking to her mother and not knowing where she was was bugging Rory. He just hoped that it would resolve itself soon.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"All right," Steph said pushing her plate away. "I'm stuffed."

"A medical miracle, my friend," Tristan teased, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

"Shut up, Tris."

"Yeah," Rory said as she leaned into Finn's embrace. "Steph almost eats as much as me."

"No one can eat as much as you," Colin laughed.

"Now you're just being mean," Rory told him with a laugh.

Logan leaned back in his chair and watched Rory interact with his friends. He didn't know what was bugging him so much about her. It just... was. He hated how well she had fit in with his friends, almost immediately being accepted by them. How she stole one of his best friends and had even got him to settle down.

He didn't mean to rag on her. But it was impossible to try and be nice to her. He didn't know why, but it was just the way he felt and he couldn't help it.

"All right, where to next?" Colin asked.

"I say we hit the movies," Steph told them. "Rory and me found this movie theater that plays all the classics."

"We have to set up for the party tonight," Logan said.

Colin nodded. "True."

"What party?" Rory asked.

"Ah, a goodbye party, love. It's almost towards the end of our trip, we always have a huge-"

"Rory?" They heard being called towards the front of the restaurant, cutting Finn off. They all looked towards the sound of the voice. A woman was standing there with a smile on her face. Before Finn had a chance to ask how Rory knew the woman, she was out of her seat running towards her.

"Mom!" She shouted running towards Lorelai. She launched herself in her mother's arms, causing both girls to laugh. Lorelai hopped on one foot, getting unbalanced by the force of Rory's hug.

"Okay falling, let's lean this way," Lorelai laughed pushing Rory back a bit.

Rory pulled back and smiled. "You're here a week early."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No!" Rory laughed. "I've been worried though. You didn't call yesterday and I've been trying to get in touch with you. Nobody knew where you were. Not even Miss Patty!" Rory said.

"I know. I disappeared yesterday afternoon with the excuse of going to Hartford for inn stuff. Turned off my cell and everything. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"But getting here isn't an all day drive."

"Yeah, I know. Sherry was out of town…" Lorelai trailed off.

"Oh," Rory said. "So you visited dad?"

"And Gigi."

"Right."

"He's good, kid, disappointed that you weren't there."

"Yeah, well..."

"Anyway, I crashed there and came down here this morning."

"How'd you know I was here?" Rory asked

"I was driving and saw you with a group of people who are now staring at us in disbelief."

Rory turned and nodded, taking her mother's hand and leading her towards the table. "Right, forgot about you guys."

"I'm hurt," Colin said putting a hand to his heart. "How could a Gilmore forget about me?"

"It's really easy, Colin," Steph said. "You just squeeze your eyes closed really tightly, snap your fingers twice, turn around once and you're easily forgotten."

"Shut up, Steph."

"So hostile these friends of yours," Lorelai laughed.

Rory shrugged. "You get used to it."

"I bet."

"So let me introduce you," Rory said. "Guys, this is my mom Lorelai Gilmore."

"Hey," they all chorused.

"Mom, this is Stephanie McCrea. You remember Tristan?"

"Ah, the Romeo to my daughter's Juliet."

"Ah, he's my Romeo now," Steph laughed.

"Good to know," Lorelai responded.

"This is Steph's cousin Colin McCrea. And Logan Huntzberger," Rory said pointing to a quiet Logan. "Then this is Finn," Rory said holding out her hand. Finn stood up taking it and offering Lorelai his other hand. "My boyfriend."

"Ah," Lorelai smiled taking his hand. "I've heard only good things about you."

"Same here," Finn said.

"I've got to go," Logan said scooting out of his chair. "Meet me back at the house, we've got to go over party things." Without another word he dropped a twenty on the table and left. Colin rolled his eyes.

"Typical," he muttered.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Lorelai said.

"No," Finn reassured her. "Just typical Huntz. Please," he said smiling to Lorelai and offering his chair. "Have a seat."

"How gentlemanly," she said as she sat in the offered chair. Finn gave a look to Tristan and Steph, causing them to move over, so that he could still sit next to Rory.

"So how's dad?" Rory asked.

"He's good," Lorelai said. "Like I said, he was a bit put out that you weren't there. He asked that maybe we could visit on the way back."

Rory opened her mouth to protest, but Lorelai cut her off. "But I told him that you probably have the whole trip back to the Hollow planned out and going back was probably not on the list."

She gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"You should talk to him, babe."

"I'm good."

"Okay. So when did this happen?" Lorelai said gesturing to Finn and Rory holding hands. Tristan, Colin and Finn were having their own conversation, Steph listening to both conversations while Rory and Lorelai talked.

"Last night."

"Oh, so it's fresh."

"Right out the dryer," Rory laughed.

"It's good to see you happy, Ror. You were so down when you came here."

"I was not," she protested.

"Yeah, you were. You hid it well. I was the only one that saw."

"Oh, why's that?"

"You came out of me, I know you better than anyone."

"That was gross."

"No!" Colin refused, causing the Gilmores to turn. "I am not inviting them!"

Finn and Tristan looked at each other and laughed. Steph shook her head.

"You have to face them sometime," Steph teased.

Colin shuddered. "If I can avoid them, I will. Anyone makes that phone call and the last thing they see is going to be a casket closing," he threatened.

"What's going on?" Rory asked.

"There are these sisters that really like Colin," Steph said with a wicked smile.

"Aww, girls that will give Colin the time of day, how sweet."

"Watch it, Gilmore," Colin said through clenched teeth.

"So what's wrong with these girls?" Rory asked.

"They..."

"They're not attractive, love," Finn supplied.

"Guys, that's just mean."

"No, Rory," Tristan cut in. "They're ugly. You see them and you literally want to run in the bathroom and empty your lunch."

"Eww," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, that's everyone's reaction to the twins," Steph laughed.

"The funny part," Finn continued, "Is that they somehow got wind of one of our parties last year and took a liking to our Colin. Some might call it an obsession."

"I sure that they even have an altar of him," Tristan teased.

"Any of you call them, there will be hell to pay." Colin stood up and straightened his shirt. "I'm off to see a man about some music." He laid down a twenty on the table and left

"Hey Colin, wait up," Tristan said and kissed Steph. "See you later?"

"I don't think I'm really up for a party, Tris," Steph said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, but I'll go towards the end."

"'Kay." He kissed her, running a hand through her hair. "Love you."

"Love you too, now go. I hear the car."

"Coming, Finn?" Tristan asked, putting a twenty on the table himself. Finn turned to Rory.

"Go, Finn," Rory said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to pick you up or…"

"I'm not going to go."

"Trust me," Steph told her. "You're not missing anything. You've seen one drunken idiot, you've seen them all."

"It's true, babe," Lorelai told her. "I know."

Finn laughed. "How 'bout I drink myself into oblivion tonight and you can come in the morning and nurse me back to health?"

"Sounds perfect," Rory said. Finn leaned down to kiss her, but straightened, eyeing Lorelai for permission.

"Oh," Lorelai said taken aback by the action. "Go ahead. You've seen one guy kiss your daughter, you've seen them all."

"Mom," Rory said glaring at her.

Finn laughed and leaned down kissing her, lingering longer than usual because he could. He pulled back and kissed her forehead. "I'll talk to you later, love." He put a twenty on the table and smiled at her.

"Bye," Rory said as he ran out of the restaurant.

"So what's with the twenties?" Lorelai asked, eyeing the eighty dollars lying on the table. Steph grabbed them and Rory and her got out twenties of their own.

"When in a group, we each give twenty dollars," Steph explained.

"It's the only time Tristan and Finn will let us pay without an argument."

"So sweet. And odd," Lorelai laughed.

"Take it as sweet," Rory said getting her bags as Steph grabbed her own and went to pay the bill.

"So what now?" Lorelai asked as they walked to Stephanie's car.

"Well, actually, Steph and me were planning on having a movie night. Grandma and grandpa are out all day, they have some party they have to go to."

"I'm glad they're not dragging you to these things."

"So am I," Rory said in a grateful tone.

"All right, girls," Steph announced as she put her sunglasses on and slid into the driver's seat. Rory opened the door and let her mom get in the back before getting in the front, their bags fitting perfectly in the back. "We go get our supplies, get some more clothes and we're off to movie night."

"Steph has a love of clothes," Rory told Lorelai.

"Now Rory," Steph admonished as she pulled out of the parking lot with a skilled ease. "I wouldn't call it a love. I'd call it an obsession."

"You have no idea how much I spend with this girl around."

"I don't think I gave you enough spending money to buy all this," Lorelai said worriedly as she looked in her daughter's bag.

"Grandma and grandpa insisted I take their card."

"And with some help from me Rory will be the best-dressed Yalie on campus. Next to me of course."

"Of course," Rory laughed.

Lorelai looked at her daughter and gave a small smile. Her daughter had no idea just how well she fit into the Hartford social circle. She had been accepted, probably without a fight, and she was perfect in it. It scared Lorelai that her daughter was fitting in with this blonde girl, had a perfect society boyfriend, with an accent no less, and was happy with it.

Though she was glad that her daughter had made friends, friends that would be at Yale with her, she was worried that Rory would get sucked into a life that she had tried so hard to shield her daughter from.

"I say go for the dress!" Steph laughed. "Finn will die when he sees you in it."

"Steph, the last thing I want Finn to do is keel over and die."

"I think he almost did last night when you said yes."

"That was good, wasn't it?" Rory said, a huge smile on her face.

But her baby was happy and who was she to take that away from her?

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_


	7. Not So Cool Mom

****

Part 7: Not So Cool Mom

"Ugh," Lorelai groaned from her position on the bed that Rory had just gotten out of.

"Sorry," Rory murmured.

"Ready?" Lorelai heard another voice ask. Cracking an eye open and turning around she saw Rory and Steph dressed and combed, ready to go.

"Where are you two going this early?" Lorelai asked, her voice raspy.

"The guys are all hung over from the party last night, so it's our job to nurse them back to health," Steph explained.

Lorelai frowned. "Aren't they too young to be drinking?"

"Tristan is nineteen," Steph said. "But it's never stopped him."

"And Finn is twenty-one," Rory told her, causing Lorelai to shoot up in bed.

"He is?"

Rory nodded slowly, pausing her movement in putting her hair in a ponytail. "Yeah."

"I didn't know that!"

"Mom, he told us yesterday that he was going to drink himself in oblivion."

"I thought he was kidding."

"Finn never kids about drinking. If he drinks, he goes all out," Steph told her.

"He turned twenty-one in March," Rory told her.

"And have you been…" Lorelai trailed off, trying to keep her name of 'cool mom'.

"No," Rory told her. "And neither does he. He doesn't drink when he's around me, even though I tell him it's all right."

"Finn's sweet like that. He wouldn't jeopardize anyone's life by drinking and driving," Steph reassured Lorelai.

"Hung over he'll drive anywhere though," Rory pointed out, putting on her lip gloss.

"Just give him some sunglasses and he's good to go," Steph said.

"All right," Lorelai said.

"Mom, it's fine," Rory said, grabbing her bag. "I'll be back later."

"Bye girls," Lorelai said watching as Rory and Steph left. Not only was her baby dating a rich guy, but he was older too. Lorelai groaned as her head hit the pillow. God, this got better and better, didn't it?

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Do you think you're mom is okay with Finn being twenty-one?" Steph asked as they walked down the stairs.

"I think she's just used to me being with guys my own age. It sort of threw her finding out that I'm dating someone three years older."

"You're eighteen?" Steph asked, pausing on the steps.

"Yeah," Rory said. "Didn't you know?"

"I thought you were nineteen."

"Nope, I turn nineteen in October."

"Learn new things everyday."

"Good morning girls," Emily greeted as she came to the stairs.

"Morning grandma."

"Morning Emily."

"Where are you off to this early in the morning?" Emily asked.

"The boys had a party so we're going to go…" Rory trailed off looking at Steph.

"Help them clean up. They probably have a huge mess in the house. There's no living with them," Steph saved.

"All right," Emily smiled. "Have fun. Rory, I saw your mom's car in the driveway."

"Yeah, she came down yesterday. She's in my room still sleeping."

"Oh, all right. Are you going to see Finn?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you invite him to dinner tonight?"

"I'll ask him. Grandma, Steph and I should get going."

"All right. See you girls later."

Steph and Rory left the house and got in Steph's car.

"You have me spending money that I do not have," Rory listed. "And lying to my grandmother. What's next? Kicking a puppy?"

"I was thinking something bigger," Steph said driving to the house. "Like a bank heist or something."

"Can we wear Betty Doll masks?" Rory asked excitedly. "Like in _Sugar and Spice_?"

"I was thinking Nixon."

"Yeah, him too," Rory laughed as they pulled into the driveway. Steph turned off the car and they both got out, walking into the house.

"Oh my god," Steph said letting the door close behind Rory.

Rory took one look and gasped. "Holy-"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Colin said quickly coming out from the living room and surveying the damage.

Plastic cups, beer bottles and plates covered almost every surface of the house, along with food and liquid, causing the floor to have a sticky feel to it. Random articles of clothing were thrown around, some covering the lamps and couches, along with streamers and broken items.

The damage covered the whole house as well as outside to the beach.

"Luckily we closed off the second floor, so the only damage is down here," Colin said.

"This is almost as bad as last year. And remember, Mitchum came and chewed Logan out for it."

"We'll get it cleaned up fast," Colin nodded.

"Jeez, I don't even want to think about how it looked last year," Rory said, carefully making her way towards the stairs.

"Yeah, it was bad," Colin told her scratching his head. "Hey, maybe after you guys get done catering to your boyfriends, you want to come down and help?"

Rory and Steph looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"Nah," they replied in unison before running up the stairs, avoiding Colin's curses.

"All right," Steph said as they walked into the communal bathroom. She went to the counter and got two glasses that were always left there and filled them with water. "We'll leave Logan alone," she told Rory who was searching for aspirin.

"Well, that has 'Duh' written all over it," Rory said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sorry," Steph mumbled.

Rory gave her a small smile and handed her two aspirins and kept two herself, grabbing one of the glasses of water.

"All right," Rory said leaving the bathroom. "Which one's Finn's?"

"You haven't been up here before?"

"Nope."

"It's that one," Steph said pointing to Finn's door before going into Tristan's. Rory walked into the dark room, closing the door quietly behind her. She saw Finn sprawled on top of his bed in his boxers, the covers kicked down to the end of the bed. She put the water and aspirin on the dresser next to him and walked to the window knowing that what she was about to do was very mean, but she couldn't help herself.

Taking the ends of the curtains in her hands she flung them open, letting the bright sun pour into the room, causing Finn to jump from the bed as if he had been doused in cold water.

"Bloody hell, woman! Are you trying to kill me!" Finn yelled squeezing his eyes shut tight.

"That was my first thought, yes," Rory laughed as she sat on the bed. She noticed that his accent was much thicker than she had ever heard it before. She grabbed the water and aspirin and handed to him. "Drink up."

"You're evil," he muttered putting the white pills in his mouth and swallowing water.

"You're the one that wanted me to come and nurse you back to health. You made the mistake of not clarifying on what kind of nursing I should do."

"I have an idea," Finn said wrapping her waist and bringing her down to lie on the bed, causing her to laugh. He hovered over her and smiled. "Morning."

"Morning."

He leaned down and kissed her. Rory could taste the lingering alcohol on his lips as he kissed her.

"You taste good," she murmured against his lips.

"Scotch," he mumbled back, then pulled back. "No, wait. Rum. No…"

Rory laughed. "Just how much did you drink last night?"

"A lot," he admitted. "Though I did make it back to my bedroom by myself, so it couldn't have been that much."

"Did you get on a table and dance?" Rory teased.

Finn frowned as if concentrating, causing Rory to laugh. "I'm not quite sure, you'd have to ask Logan, Colin or Tristan about that."

"Hmm," Rory hummed wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's not important, I can ask later."

"I like you're thinking, Miss Gilmore," he said leaning down and kissing her, this time taking it a bit further than he used to. Before, he had been careful not to take the kisses too far, not wanting to push her more than she was probably ready to. Though now, he found himself nipping at her lips, causing her to open her mouth and let his tongue slip in and explore.

He liked kissing her, it was different from kissing all the other girls. She was different. He actually liked her.

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Colin tied the ends of one more black garbage bag, throwing it towards the foyer, adding it to the ever growing pile. He opened a new one and continued the collection of plates and cup just as Tristan, Steph, Finn and Rory came down the stairs.

Tristan was dressed in jeans and a white undershirt, his hair still disheveled from sleep. And Finn was in loose baggy army print pants and a loose shirt; his hair, which he was currently running his hand through, was a mess as well.

"'Bout time you got down here," Colin said throwing the box of hefty garbage bags towards Tristan.

"Actually, we were taking the girls to breakfast," Tristan said. "You're welcome to join us. I mean this is Logan's mess after all."

"Yeah, come on, Colin, take a break. I'm starving," Rory said. Colin noticed her hand was firmly in Finn's and nodded.

"Fine, let's go," he said dropping the bag. "But at least help me get these bags to the garbage bin outside."

The guys nodded and heaved the bags over their shoulders, helping Colin.

"Don't you just love watching the guys do manual labor?" Steph asked Rory who laughed.

"Yes, it's the best show to watch."

"Hardy har har," Colin said dryly giving each girl a bag. "Help."

Steph and Rory rolled their eyes as they helped the guys with the bags.

"All these bags," Rory said heaving the bag into the garbage bin. "And the house still looks like crap."

"It'll look better once we actually get the top layer off the floor and recover the floor," Tristan told her. Rory looked at him, not quite sure if he was serious or not.

"It's true," Finn said. "It happens almost every year since we've been coming here. Come on, let's go get some food."

Rory happily followed Finn, getting into his car while Tristan, Steph and Colin got in the back. Rory, now used to his tendencies to drive while hung over, grabbed his sunglasses from the glove compartment and handed them to him. He smiled gratefully at her as she slipped her own on.

"So did you girls have fun last night?" Tristan asked as they drove out of the driveway.

"Lots," Steph told him. "We ended up having our own little party."

"Mom passed out in the bed around four," Rory told them.

"She found out that her daughter was dating an older guy," Steph laughed, causing Rory to turn around and shoot her a glare.

"What?" Finn asked confused.

"Lorelai didn't know you were twenty-one," Steph told him.

"She didn't? I thought she knew I was a junior at Yale."

"She does," Roy told him. "She just didn't connect that with your age."

"It's only three years," Colin said. "I mean, when Rory turns nineteen in a few months, Finn will still be twenty-one, so the gap isn't that big."

"The gap isn't that big to begin with," Rory told him. "And my mom is fine with it. And him."

"Her getting up that fast when she found out Finn was hung over didn't seem like she was okay with it," Steph pointed out.

Rory rolled her eyes. "It caught her off guard. I don't see the big deal."

"It's not a big deal," Finn said as he parked in front of a restaurant. They all nodded and got out of the car. Finn was about to get out too when Rory grabbed his hand. "What, love?"

"Grandma wanted to know if you would have dinner with us tonight. I think me and my mom might be leaving soon, so…"

"I'll be there, love," Finn said kissing her and getting out of the car. He went around and opened her door, helping her out.

"Are you sure, you don't have to-"

"I'll be there at seven."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, now let's get something to eat."

"Thank you," she said gratefully and they caught up with the rest of the group to eat breakfast.

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Logan walked down the stairs running a hand through his hair, stopping short when he noticed the house's condition.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, going back up the stairs to get help to clean up. He hit Colin's room first, knowing that Colin hadn't nearly drunk the amount that the rest of them had, and if anyone was willing to help him clean up, it was Colin. He opened the door to be greeted to a made bed and a clean room.

He scratched his head, hopefully he went to go get something to get the beer off the hardwood floors.

He went over to Tristan's room and opened the door. The curtains were shut, the bed was unmade, but Tristan was nowhere in sight. He did see an empty water glass on the dresser though.

He sighed and went to Finn's room and opened the door carefully. They all knew that a drunk and hung over Finn that was woken up in the morning was no fun. He was surprised when he was greeted by rays of sunlight pouring into the room. Frowning he walked in.

Who the hell would open Finn's curtains when he was hung over?

He also noticed a half-filled water glass sitting on the dresser and a girl's coat on the bed.

Rory and Steph, he thought as he left the room and went back downstairs.

"It's true!" He heard as he walked down the stairs. He saw Colin, Steph, Tristan, Finn and Rory walking into the living room carefully.

"Come on, Rory," Tristan laughed. "A deer hitting you?"

"Tristan," Rory warned. "You should have seen my mother's jeep, huge dent in the side of the car. Ask my mom!"

"Did you ever find the deer, love?" Finn laughed along, closing the door.

"No. Though yelling at Tristan and Paris was fun."

"Yelling at Tristan is always fun," Steph agreed.

"Thank god, Paris is going to college far far away." Rory muttered.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" Logan asked making his way to the group carefully.

"Rory and Steph were hungry," Colin blamed.

"Wuss," Steph muttered.

"The house is a mess and you guys go to breakfast?"

"Hey!" Colin protested. "We took out about twenty full trash bags to the dumpster before leaving. All of which I collected. I wouldn't be the one complaining. Get a bag and start picking up instead of standing there and yelling at us. If I remember correctly, it was your idea to throw that stupid party in the first place, so you should be the one waking up at six in the morning to clean up."

They all stared at Colin in disbelief. He never once rose his voice unless it was warranted. Logan just turned and climbed up the steps, followed by a slamming door.

"I think that's a sign for me to go home," Rory said.

"Stay and help," Steph said. "Trust me, we need it."

Rory sighed and nodded. "Just for a little while. I have to talk to my mom."

They all nodded, got trash bags and started picking things up. About an hour later they had recovered the floor and Steph and Rory swept and mopped the stickiness, making the hardwood floors gleam while the guys started on the outside.

"All right," Rory said propping the mop on the wall, looking at the shiny floor. "I have got to get home."

"Bye Ror," Steph said starting to pick up the clothes and throwing them on the growing pile in the corner.

"Bye," she walked outside and found Finn on the beach, picking up the cups.

"Hey," Finn said straightening.

"Hey back, I have to get going."

"Want me to walk you?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course."

She leaned up and kissed him, smiling against his lips. "I really, really like you," she murmured. Finn smiled back.

"That's good, seeing as I really, really like you."

"See you at seven."

"Bye," Finn smiled as he watched her leave.

"Wow," Colin said, as he and Tristan stood next to Finn, watching her leave as well. "That was probably one of the mushiest things I've ever seen."

"Yeah, they're worse than me and Steph."

Finn glared at them and took his bag back to the house. "Oh, sod off!"

"I love when we get him so riled up that his accent thickens," Colin laughed.

"It is fun, isn't it?" Tristan agreed.

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rory smoothed the dress over her stomach as she pulled on the little coat to make the strapless dress more modest.

"Hey babe," Lorelai said as she came in and sat on the bed.

"Hi mom," Rory said smiling at her through the mirror as she fixed her curls.

"So I was thinking-"

"That's never good."

"Ha, ha," Lorelai replied dryly.

"So you were thinking?" Rory asked.

"Right, how 'bout we head home on Saturday morning?"

Rory turned. "That's in two days."

"Yeah."

"Not even two days. It's the rest of this night, tomorrow, then home."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded.

"But-"

"I know, your friends and Finn, but hon, you've been here almost three months."

"I know," Rory said, still not quite believing what was going on.

"It's time to go home, time to see your other friends. You know, Lane, Stars Hollow."

"No, I know."

"Then we also have to start getting ready for Yale."

"I know."

"Rory, I know you don't want to leave Finn, but he's still going to be your boyfriend here and in Stars Hollow."

"I know."

"Is it okay?"

"It's fine."

"I'll let you spend the whole day tomorrow with him if you want."

"It's fine," Rory said frowning. "Are you okay with Finn?"

"Why do you ask?"

Rory shrugged as she left the room. "Never mind, maybe it's just me. I'll see you downstairs."

"Ror," Lorelai got off the bed and watched as Rory walked down the stairs. She heard the doorbell ring and sighed as she went downstairs. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant dinner.

"Finn," she heard her mother exclaim as she reached the first floor. "It's so great you were able to make it."

"Thank you for inviting me, Emily."

"You've of course met our daughter Lorelai."

"Yes, yesterday afternoon. It's great to see you again."

"You too, Finn," she smiled slightly at him as they walked into the living room where Rory and her father were waiting.

"Ah Finn," Richard greeted.

"Hello Richard," Finn said as he smiled over at the older man.

"Your usual?" Richard asked.

"Please," Finn smiled. He smiled over at Rory and kissed her cheek. "You look wonderful, love," he whispered in her ear.

"Thanks. Don't look half bad yourself." They sat down side by side on the couch. Richard handed Finn his drink and Rory her club soda.

"Lorelai? Would you like something?"

"Um, vodka martini with an olive."

"All right," he went and got the drinks.

"So how are you, Finn?" Emily asked. "We've haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been fine."

"We heard you had quite the party last night," Richard laughed.

Finn cast a glance at Rory who gave him an innocent smile. "I'm not sure what Rory's told you, but it was big."

"Three boxes of garbage bags just to get rid of the debris," Emily told him.

"Ah-" Finn laughed. "It was actually four. She left just as we opened the new one. We found that some people made it past our eyes and ended up in some of the guestrooms. I must say Rory is really handy with a mop."

"You mopped?" Lorelai asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rory shrugged. "The floor was really sticky and Steph had just gotten her nails done."

"Mrs. Gilmore, dinner's ready," the maid said.

"Thank you, Clara," Emily smiled. They all got up and headed towards the dining room. Finn and Rory sat at the same side, Lorelai across from them as Emily and Richard sat at their usual places at the head of the table. The salads were served and they all ate in relative silence.

"So Finn," Richard began swallowing the lettuce, "How are the plans for Fiji coming?"

"Fine, Richard," Finn told him. "Logan is getting the boat ready and has been for some time now. We've got all the ports planned out and I've even found out the best phone reception for all of them." He winked at Rory who laughed.

"Are you leaving right away?" Emily asked.

"No, after the end of this week. We've got two weeks to spend with our families."

"Your father must be happy about that."

"He is," Finn nodded. "I've heard rumblings that my little sister is in town for a visit before her schooling starts, so I might be able to spend some time with her before she leaves."

"Shelby, right?" Rory asked.

"Right," Finn said with a nod.

"Are you close to your sister?" Lorelai asked. The first thing she had said since dinner began caused them all to look at her.

"Yes," Finn said. "I try to talk to her when I can. Though she lives with my mum in Australia, so I don't see them often."

"How old are you sisters?" Lorelai asked.

"My oldest sister Amelia is twenty-four and Shelby is fourteen."

"And you're twenty-one?"

"Yes," Finn answered.

"Lorelai," Emily warned.

"Sorry," Lorelai muttered, clearly not meaning it.

Rory frowned at her mother as she pushed her empty salad plate away. What was going on? Hadn't her mother said that she was okay with Finn? While the salad plates were cleared and dinner was served, Rory looked at her mother oddly, trying to figure out what was going on in that head of hers. Then it clicked.

"Oh my god," Rory muttered, causing everyone to look at her.

"What is it, Rory?" Emily asked.

Rory looked at her mother. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

"Rory," Lorelai protested.

"Please?"

Lorelai sighed before getting up. They excused themselves and left the dining room and went outside.

"Rory, what is it?"

"You're afraid I'm going to have sex," Rory accused.

"What!" Lorelai asked taking a step back.

"You're afraid that I'm thinking about sleeping with Finn."

"No."

"Mom?"

"All right!"

"Ha," Rory said triumphantly.

Lorelai heaved a sigh as she sat down at the lawn chair, placing her head in her hands. "All right, it's true. It's just he's older…"

"By three years, mom. I'm eighteen," Rory said sitting down next to her. "I mean that's not really an excuse for me to jump into bed with him and give up my virginity. But I mean, I'm at the age where I can make the decision for myself, mom."

"He's twenty-one," Lorelai protested.

Rory laughed. "And dad was seventeen when you slept with him."

"It was a one year difference, Rory. That's a difference."

"I like Finn, mom," Rory said with a smile. "I really, really like Finn. I think he's made me happier in the last month than Dean and Jess have in years. He makes me smile and laugh and I really don't think that he's going anywhere anytime soon. But I mean, we just made it official two days ago, mom," Rory told her, touching the ring around her neck. "I'm not going to sleep with him. And he knows that and he respects that."

"I know, but…"

"The age never bugged me. I still don't know why it bugs you," Rory shrugged. "He's twenty-one, I'm eighteen, turning nineteen in a few months."

"God, when the hell did you grow up?"

"I don't think I was ever a kid," Rory said with a frown.

"Yeah, I think you were born a grown up," Lorelai said wrapping an arm around her daughter and kissed her temple. "So you really like him, huh?"

"I really, really like him,"

"Yeah, so do I, babe."

"Come on, let's go back to dinner. I think they're all wondering what's going on," Rory said getting up.

"How'd you figure it out?" Lorelai asked as she stood up and walked inside.

"You kept having this fixation on him being twenty-one," Rory told her. "And then I remembered that conversation that we had when I was with Jess. And I remembered the face."

"What face?" Lorelai asked pausing inside the door.

"The 'oh crap my daughter wants to have sex' face."

"Oh, that one."

"You had that same face when you asked Finn if he was twenty-one. Sort of pieced it together then."

"I do trust you, you know. It's not that I don't."

"I know, mom."

"All right, let's go."

They walked back to the table and sat down. Finn leaned into Rory.

"Everything all right, love?"

"Perfect," she whispered. "Just something we had to talk about."

"All right."

"So, you'll never guess what Kirk did last week," Lorelai announced to the table. Rory smiled, her mother was back. But she still had a feeling something was bothering her. But Rory doubted that it was anything really big.

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rory walked Finn out to his car. He leaned against the driver's door and put his hands on her waist, bringing her closer.

"Are you sure everything's all right?" He asked.

"My mom thought I wanted to have sex."

"Oh," Finn said raising his eyebrows. "Do you?"

Rory laughed. "At some point," she admitted. "But not now, I'm not ready yet."

"Good, 'cause I'm not sure I want you to lose this innocence yet."

Rory shook her head. "So, my mom talked to me before dinner…"

Finn looked at her, she seemed sad all of a sudden. "Love, what's the matter?"

"We're leaving on Saturday," she said looking up at him.

"Oh," he said bringing her closer.

"Yeah, but she said I could spend all tomorrow with you guys."

"You really think I'm going to let you spend your last day with Steph and the guys?"

"I was thinking we could have something down on the beach."

"Like a barbeque or something?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I'll pick you up at ten."

Rory looked at him. He had his scheming face on.

"You're planning something," she accused.

"Maybe, be ready at ten. Bring your bathing suit."

"Finn," Rory protested as he kissed her and got in his car.

"Ten," he told her closing his door, sending her a wink and driving away, leaving her sighing in the driveway. She went back inside and up to her room, finding her mother lying on her bed.

"What's up, babe?" Lorelai asked.

"He's picking me up at ten and he's scheming."

"Aww, he likes you."

Rory laughed as she got on the bed. Lorelai looked at the ring that her daughter had been wearing around her neck for the past two days.

"So tell mommy about this necklace," Lorelai said bringing her fingers to touch the silver ring.

"Well," Rory said kicking off her shoes and lying down next to her mom, feet in the air. "Let's begin with the details of the date where I became Finn Rothschild's girlfriend."

"Oh, story time!" Lorelai giggled as Rory started in on the story. Her baby was happy. And she had no right to take that away.

****

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX


	8. The Departure

_**Part 8: The Departure**_

"What are you doing up so early?" Lorelai groaned. She had been woken up early for the second time in a row by the movements her daughter was making around the room.

"You do know there are about four other rooms you could be sleeping in, that way you don't get woken up by me, right?" Rory asked tying the halter top around her neck and taking off the necklace Finn had given her. If Finn had asked her to wear a bathing suit, it was because he expected her to get in the water. She wasn't going to take the chance of getting his ring lost out at sea.

"But your bed is so comfy."

"Then stop complaining about the times I'm waking up," Rory laughed straightening the her bathing suit top from under her white halter. She had on her bathing suit shorts underneath her denim skirt. She parted her hair in the middle and put them in two braids while slipping on her flip flops.

"Wow, aren't you looking preppy," Lorelai teased sitting up in the bed.

"Shut up," Rory glared as she tied the last braid off with a black band. She put the necklace Finn had given her in her jewelry box and closed it.

"So what do you think your boyfriend has planned for today?" Lorelai asked with a smile as Rory put a towel in her beach bag.

"I have no idea. He said last night they he didn't really want to spend my last day sharing me with people, but I sort of want it to be all of us. Even Logan."

"I thought Logan was sort of included in the 'us'."

"That's right, you don't know," Rory said looking through her suitcase at the pile of books she had brought.

"What don't I know?" Lorelai asked.

"Logan doesn't like me," Rory said offhandedly as she looked at the back of a book and read the summary.

"Why?" Lorelai asked surprised at the comment. Who couldn't like her daughter? Rory was probably the sweetest girl anyone could ever meet. Someone not liking her was just blasphemy.

"Not sure," Rory told her as she stood up, apparently deciding the book was worth her time as she put it in the bag.

"He just doesn't like you?"

"Pretty much."

"And this doesn't bug you? Your boyfriend's best friend not liking you for no apparent reason?"

Rory shrugged. "I've had to deal with it for three months, I've gotten used to Logan being an ass. And I have a feeling he doesn't like me and Finn together. But…" Rory shrugged, "I don't really need his approval. Colin, Tristan and Steph have accepted me in Finn's life."

"And Finn sure as hell isn't letting you go anytime soon," Lorelai pointed out.

"Right, so what Logan thinks of me doesn't really matter. But he's Finn's friend and I don't want to push him out of his own circle."

"That's good of you, kid."

"Yeah," Rory shrugged. She looked at the clock. It was already ten. Finn was probably all ready out front. "I've got to go, I'm taking my cell."

"If I need you, look for a flare."

"Will do. I'll pack when I get back."

"Have fun, sweets."

"Bye mom." She kissed her mom's cheek as she grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs.

"Finn's outside waiting for you," Emily said.

Rory nodded her thanks. "I'll be back later."

"Have fun."

"Bye grandma," Rory smiled as she walked out of the house to find Finn leaning against the car with a smile.

"You look nice," Finn said.

"Thank you." She took in his board shorts and button down shirt that was unbuttoned to the middle of his chest. "So do you."

"Thanks, love." He opened the door and let her in before running over to the driver's side and getting in himself.

"So what are we doing?" Rory asked as he drove out of the Gilmore driveway and she put her bag in the back.

"I was thinking we could go see an early movie while Steph, Tristan and Colin got things set up for lunch."

Rory frowned. "What about Logan?"

She noticed Finn's hesitation before answering. "He's.."

"Got a date?" Rory filled in.

"A few actually," Finn told her. "But Tristan and Colin are getting the barbeque out and Steph is out buying everything we need. I think there are even presents."

"No!" Rory said excitedly.

"Just don't tell them I told you."

"Oh, now I'm excited. Did you get me something?"

"I might have gotten you something, you'll just have to find out later, now won't you?"

"Or you can tell me now," Rory pointed out.

"Or you can wait."

"Okay, we're getting too cute," Rory told him scrunching up her nose.

Finn laughed. "We are, aren't we?" He parked in front of the movie theater and got out of the car and went over to open her door. He took her hand as she got out and led her in. They got their tickets and she went to go get the seats, as he got the popcorn, candy and drinks.

He found her sitting in the middle of the theater, looking at the trivia facts passing through the screen, probably answering them in her head. He sat next to her and arranged the food to sit between them before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and letting her head fall on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head as the lights dimmed and the movie started.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Steph, cut it out!" Rory laughed as she put her hand in front of the camera that Steph had been clicking since they had gotten back from the movies around noon.

"Come on, Rory!" Steph said putting the camera to her side. Rory relaxed and leaned back against Finn. "You're leaving tomorrow and you and Finn have no pictures together."

"And that's all fine and dandy," Rory said as Finn wrapped his arms around her waist, "But you're wasting one whole camera on me and Finn being in one position."

"Dirty!" Tristan yelled causing Rory to roll her eyes as she felt Finn chuckle underneath her.

"Well, it would be more if you and Finn got up and did something. Ever since you got back you've been sitting here and haven't moved."

"'Cause we're comfortable," Finn told her. "Now leave _us_ alone and help your own boyfriend with the food."

Steph clicked one more picture before stalking off to the barbeque.

"She's annoying," Rory told him, tilting her head back to look at him.

"Imagine a whole entire year with her and Tristan."

"Oh... crap," Rory groaned.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and share a dorm room with her."

"Bite your tongue!"

"I don't know, love. Stephanie and Tristan are both from very important families, they can pull the strings if they want to."

Rory snuggled further into her embrace with Finn and closed her eyes, letting his warmth engulf her.

"You know, I don' think it would be that bad. It's sort of comforting to know that I already know people on campus."

"One year, love," he whispered, "It's only one year."

"Not that long when you think about it," Rory whispered.

"I'll call," he whispered into her ear, swaying them back and forth lightly. "I'll write, hell, I'll send you gifts."

"You don't have to do that, Finn."

"But I want to," he told her. "Plus we still have two weeks together," he said running his hands up and down her sides lightly. "I'll meet your town, you'll meet my dad."

"Two weeks."

He kissed her neck. "This is going to work," he told her confidently.

"I know."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Steph watched as Rory and Finn held each other as they were sitting in the sand. Rory's eyes were closed and Finn was whispering something in her ear as he stroked her hands that were tightly clasped together. She frowned and hit her boyfriend's arm.

"Ow!" Tristan groaned rubbing his arm and glaring at his girlfriend. "What the hell?"

"Why don't we have any more moments like that?" She asked pointing to Finn and Rory.

"You see, this is why we never hang out with other couples," Tristan told her pointing with the spatula he had been using to flip the steaks, at her. "You start getting those ideas in your head. Ruins relationships."

Steph glared at him before holding up the camera and taking a picture, causing the flash to hit his eyes. He groaned and closed his eyes waiting for his eyesight to focus. He heard Colin laughing behind him and the grilling of steaks.

"What's going on?" He heard a voice behind him. Tristan frowned and opened his eyes, Logan coming into focus, a blonde at his arm. Typical Huntz.

"Steph wants to know why Tristan doesn't have more Joanie and Chachi moments with her."

"Joanie and who?" The blonde asked, smacking her lips together. Tristan looked her up and down and smirked. The girl was chewing on gum, rather loudly, and couldn't have looked older than sixteen. Where the hell did Logan get these girls? Did he just hang out at the school yards and wait for cheerleading practice to end before picking one out and taking her out?

"Guys, this is Lori," Logan said. "Lori, these are my friends Colin and Tristan. And Tristan's girlfriend Stephanie."

"What about us, mate?" Finn asked with a smile with Rory trailing behind him, looking at the ocean before smiling over at them.

"Right, and my friend Finn and his girlfriend Rory."

"Nice to meet you," Rory told Lori. "It's nice to know you guys were able to make it."

"Make it to what?" Lori asked, her mouth opening and closing. Rory could almost see the fading pink gum go up and down in her mouth.

"I'm just going to go sit with Steph," Rory told them, squeezing Finns hand before going over to the picnic table and sitting across from Steph. They both eyed the blonde before looking at each other.

"I say sixteen," Steph said.

"Really?" Rory asked glancing over at her. "I was going middle schooler."

"Nah, Logan doesn't delve deeper than high school."

"Must be an improvement then," Rory said. Steph looked at her serious face before letting out a laugh. The guys turned to looked at them. Rory was trying to quiet Steph down while Steph was trying to smother her laughter with her hand.

Finn shook his head with a smile and turned back to Logan's date who was staring at Tristan like he was covered in chocolate.

"Lori," Finn said getting her attention, "Do you mind leaving me and my mates alone for a bit?"

Lori looked at Logan as if confused.

"Go sit with Rory and Steph, Lori." Logan told her.

She shrugged. "Okay."

"Wow," Colin said as the blonde was out of earshot and sitting next to Steph. "Even the simplest of sentences confuse her."

"Where did you pick this one up?" Tristan asked, casting one last look.

"Please tell me she's at least legal," Finn said putting his hand to his forehead. He didn't know what was going on with Logan. Lately it seemed as if he was getting them younger and younger, stupider and stupider, he was also getting rid of them quicker. He was taking the 'fuck 'em and leave 'em' thing a bit too literally.

"I was having lunch and she was the waitress, and she's twenty one."

"Are you serious?" Colin asked in shock as he looked over at Lori again. "She looks like she's a freshman. In high school."

Finn looked at her again and smirked as he saw Rory lay her head on the table in frustration. "Looks like Steph and Rory are having trouble communicating with the newest member."

"Well, of course," Tristan said. "They don't speak Stupidese."

"It's not a language known to most," Colin added.

"It's a dead language, you know," Finn said looking at Logan. "It's like Latin. You learn it, but it's completely useless in the long run."

"What the hell is your, guys, problem!" Logan asked raising his voice a bit. "It seems like all of you can have the girl you want, but the minute I bring one, everyone attacks her."

"Logan," Finn said, "Tristan and I have girlfriends. Smart and beautiful girls that can form complete sentences. You have bedmates. There's a difference."

"Yeah, Logan," Colin said getting Logan to turn towards him, "We used to make fun of all the girls we all slept with. But you're just getting ridiculous with them, at least we had standards."

"You know," Logan said, ignoring Colin, "I would look closely at your girlfriend, Finn."

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked crossing his arms across his chest.

"Where's the pretty necklace you gave her?" Logan just shook his head. "Someone flip the meat before it burns."

"Shit," Tristan said turning back around and flipping the now burning meat. Finn frowned as he looked over at Rory who was talking to Steph. Logan was now sitting next to Lori. He noticed that she was in fact missing the necklace.

"There's got to be a reason, man," Colin said. "Don't start doubting your relationship just because she isn't wearing the necklace."

"Yeah," Tristan piped in. "When I asked Steph to be my girlfriend, I gave her my Letterman jacket. She rarely wears that, but I know she's still my girl."

"A jacket and a necklace are different though," Finn pointed out.

"Don't let Logan get to you," Colin said. "He's been acting like an ass ever since he found out you liked Rory."

"He's trying to get you to doubt your feelings," Tristan said. "But if it makes you feel better, I can get Rory to fess up about the necklace when we eat."

"It would," Finn told him. "I just think that if I asked..."

"It'd seem possessive?" Colin supplied.

"Just a tad," Finn agreed.

"Leave it to me," Tristan said. "Go sit down and send Steph over."

Finn nodded and went to the table sitting next to Rory. They watched as Steph nodded and smiled and walked over to Colin and Tristan.

"You're still a jackass," she told Tristan.

"You love me," Tristan smirked as he put some finished steaks onto a plate.

"What do you want? Finn gave me the look. He told me you wanted to talk to me, but his eyes said 'Help me, for the love of god, help me!'," Steph said leaning against the wood railing.

"We need you to do Finn a favor," Tristan said.

"I don't think Rory would appreciate me making a move on her boyfriend. And I would think you should have had better sense than that."

"You even look at another guy-" Tristan warned.

"We need you to ask Rory why she isn't wearing her necklace," Colin said before the couple got into another lover's spat that would result in them getting horizontal right on the back porch.

Steph frowned. "She's not?"

Tristan shook his head. "Guess who noticed?"

"Logan," Steph stated looking over at the four people at the table.

"Yep," Colin said putting some hot dogs on the plate as well.

"I'll ask," Steph smiled. "Now, is the food almost done?"

Half an hour later Tristan, Steph and Colin were putting the food in the middle of the table. Steph and Tristan sat next to each other across from Rory and Finn while Colin sat at Rory's other side.

"Dig in, guys," Tristan said as he passed out the plates. Everyone grabbed some food while Lori hung back, frowning at it.

"Feel free to grab something," Rory told her as she put chips onto her plate.

"I don't eat things like this," Lori told her pushing the plate of meat away from her.

"What?" Steph asked. "Like meat?"

"No, like fat," Lori told her.

Colin snorted. Rory jabbed him with her elbow sending him a dirty look.

"We know Rory lives on the stuff," Logan muttered,

"Logan, quit it," Tristan said. "It's her last day, at least pretend like you like her."

"It's true," Rory laughed having heard Logan's comment. "My mother and I can't live without junk food. And I think," Rory said groaning when she swallowed her steak, "These are the worst steaks I've ever eaten in my entire life," she laughed.

"Take it back," Tristan protested. "I'm the master at cooking meat on the grill."

Steph coughed as she pushed her food away. "Sweetie, I think you should stick to your strengths. Which are clearly in bed."

"Ugh! I didn't need to hear that!" Colin protested while the rest of the group laughed.

After figuring out that Tristan's steaks were a dud and Colin was a master at cooking hot dogs, they sat eating and talking about random things. Though Rory noticed Logan's distance, it didn't surprise her.

"Rory?" Steph asked. Rory looked up at the blonde and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"I asked where your necklace is," Steph said. Rory frowned. She noticed the whole table was quiet, waiting for her answer.

"Oh," she said, her hand reaching up to her neck. She had forgotten that she wasn't wearing Finn's ring today. "I left it in my jewelry box today," she told them. "Finn said to wear my bathing suit and I didn't want to chance losing it in the water," she said slowly. She felt as if everyone let out a sigh of relief when she said it. "Why?"

"No reason," Steph said with a laugh and a wave of her hand.

She turned to Finn who kissed her temple. She was about to ask what was going on when her cell phone rang. Getting it out of her pocket she looked at the caller ID and frowned.

"Who is it, love?" Finn asked.

"Stars Hollow phone booth, on Peach," she answered.

"You have the number of a phone booth in your town?" Colin asked.

"Lane," she whispered answering. "Lane? Oh my... No!" She got up from the table and left to talk in private. Finn watched her go down to the beach before turning to Logan.

"Why don't you like her?" He asked.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Colin rolled her eyes. "Come off it, Logan, ever since you found out that Finn might have had a thing for her, you took an instant dislike to Rory."

"That's not true," Logan protested.

"You seemed to like her when we first met her," Finn told him. "But then I asked her to take that walk on the beach and you pulled away. Why?"

"Look, I like Rory just fine," Logan said.

"No, you don't," Steph said. "Or you wouldn't have said anything about the necklace. No one noticed until you opened your big fat mouth."

"Hey," Logan said. "It goes to show just how much Finn cares about her."

"I care about her just fine, Logan," Finn said lowering his voice. "Just because I didn't notice her not wearing it, doesn't mean I don't care. Whether you like it or not, Rory is in my life. She's not going anywhere, so you better get used to it."

"I'm going home tomorrow morning," Rory said climbing up the porch again. "I swear, the minute I get home we wallow... It doesn't matter that you're sad, I'll be sad with you." She sat back next to Finn and gave a smile. "All right... It'll be fine, Lane. As cliché as it might sound, there are other fish in the sea... Bye." Rory hung up and stuffed the phone in her pocket.

"Everything all right?" Colin asked.

"You jinxed Lane's relationship," Rory accused looking at him.

"What?" Colin asked confused.

"They lasted three months before breaking up."

"Who?" Steph asked.

"Dave and Lane. They broke up today before his going to California."

"I jinxed it?" Colin asked. "How did I jinx it?"

"Remember that conversation you had about three months ago with her? The one when you told her they were going to break up? She blames you."

"She does not!" Finn laughed.

Rory nodded at her boyfriend. "She said that it was all phone stealer's fault."

"I told you I don't work well under pressure, especially if someone's screaming at me."

"Goes to show why so many girls complain about his performance in bed," Steph whispered causing Colin to glare at her and the rest of them to laugh.

Logan got up for the table. "I'm getting a beer, anyone else want one?"

The table chorused a 'yes' except for Rory.

"Rory?" Logan asked

Rory shook her head. "I'm good for now."

"You sure?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, my mom would probably be proud if I accepted the offer, but I still have a grandmother that can smell alcohol on a minor's breath, even if it is one beer."

"All right," Logan said as he walked to the kitchen.

They spent the rest of the night talking, and eating, teasing each other, mostly Colin till he turned red and confused Lori until Logan had left with her.

"All right!" Steph announced. "It's time for presents."

Rory smiled. "You guys didn't have to get me anything."

"Are you kidding, I meant for me," Steph said sticking her tongue out at Rory.

"Steph, there are better uses for your tongue and sticking them out at Rory isn't one of them," Tristan leered causing Steph to glare at him.

"Yeah, and there are better uses for your mouth and talking isn't one of them," Steph shot back before getting up and grabbing presents from the house. Rory laughed at Tristan's dumbstruck look as he watched her leave.

"I'm going to miss that," Colin muttered.

"You still have three weeks," Rory reminded him.

"No," Tristan shook his head. "Me and Steph leave Monday."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Yep," Steph said putting three boxes on the table. "We have to get all our stuff for Yale."

"You too, huh?" Rory asked.

"Yep, now open your presents," Steph ordered handing her one of the boxes. "This one is from Tristan."

Rory eyed the blonde before opening it. She opened the lid to the box and smiled.

"Romeo and Juliet?" She asked with a laugh.

"That," he told her pointing at the book, "Was the copy I had in high school."

"So you're done pining for me, huh?"

"Long time ago," he said wrapping an arm around Steph and kissing her.

"This is a very sad day for me," she said, wiping away a fake tear, closing the box and smiling at him. "Thanks, Tris."

"You're welcome."

"Now mine!" Steph said handing her another box.

Rory unwrapped it from the colorful paper and opened the lid, looking up at Steph. "I told you not to get it!"

"Must have slipped my mind," Steph shrugged, but had a mischievous smile on her face.

"What is it, love?" Finn asked.

"It's a dress that I liked, but it cost too much. I didn't want to spend my grandparents' money on something that I might only wear twice."

"Yeah, well, I bought it for you so it'll give you incentive to wear it at least three times."

"Thank you ," Rory smiled closing the lid and putting it on top of Tristan's box.

"Okay," Colin said grabbing his and handing it to her. "You're hard to shop for, so I got Steph's help."

"Must have been hard to ask," Rory teased knowing that Colin didn't ask Steph for anything if it could be avoided.

"Very, so I hope you like it."

Rory pulled on the string that was keeping the paper together and smiled when she saw what was in there.

"Oh…" She bit her lip and hugged him. "Thank you."

Finn took the present from her hand and smiled. "Pride and Prejudice, first edition," he murmured.

"Steph told me you liked that book," Colin said, a faint tint of red appearing on his cheeks.

"Colin?" Finn asked, his voice full of mirth as he looked over at his friend. "Are you blushing?"

"No!"

"Rory, you made Colin blush!" Tristan laughed.

Rory laughed and ignored their comments. "Steph was right, it is my favorite book, thank you."

"You're welcome."

She turned to Finn who raised an eyebrow. "Me being your boyfriend isn't enough?" He asked teasingly.

"Let me think about that… No."

"I'll give you yours later."

"Ohhhh," Steph said. "It's so good he has to give it to her in private."

"That has dirty written all over it," Rory laughed.

By that time the sun started to go down. They were all sitting in the sand, watching it dip under the water. Steph had gotten three cameras full of pictures with promises of having them developed by the time they entered Yale.

"Do you want to go back?" Finn whispered in her ear.

"I don't want to," she responded, "But I have to. I haven't finished packing yet, and with everything Steph made me buy, I don't know how I'm going to fit everything in my suitcase."

Finn laughed as he stood up and offered his hand. She took it and let him help her up. "I'm going to walk Rory home."

"We'll see you in the morning, Ror," Colin promised.

"Bye," she said waving as Finn led her down the beach.

"I'll drop off your presents in the morning," Finn told her, "Before you leave."

"I'll leave room in the car."

"We're planning on leaving this coming Friday," he said tilting her chin up so she would look at him. "I can go to Stars Hollow for a while."

"Really?"

"If you come to my father's party with me that night."

Rory bit her lip and hugged him. "Yes!"

"Good." He opened the gate and let her pass and closed it behind her. "I'll see you in the morning?"

"Definitely," she said.

He leaned in and kissed her, placing his hand on her cheek to keep her in place. Her hand went to his shoulder to keep steady. She pulled back and smiled at him.

"In the morning."

"Oh," he said sticking his hand in his pocket. He got out a small jewelry box and handed it to her. "Open that with your mum," he smirked as he backed away, gave her a wink and left. She was left staring at his retreating back before turning herself and walking into the house.

"Hello Rory."

Rory turned and smiled at her grandfather who was sitting on the couch, reading. "Hi grandpa."

"Did you have a good night?"

"Very. Is mom upstairs?"

"Yes, she is."

"Thanks, I'm going to go up there. Pack and stuff."

"All right. There is some leftover dessert if you want some."

"Thanks, grandpa," Rory shouted behind her shoulder as she ran up the stairs. She opened her bedroom door to see her mother sitting on her suitcase that was on the bed, trying to zip it up.

"Well, don't just stand there and stare, help me," Lorelai ordered, causing Rory to get up on the bed and sit down on the suitcase to help. "You're leaving Martha's Vineyard with more than you came with."

"Lots of cute clothes though." Rory said.

"And that _is_ the important thing," Lorelai said as she finished zipping the bag with a huff. "All right, I left out an outfit for you to wear tomorrow on the trip back, jeans and a shirt, with your denim jacket and Converse."

"Perfect."

"Also, I packed all your other stuff, but I left out the necklace Finn gave you. I thought you'd want to wear it."

"I do," Rory smiled going to the nightstand and touching the necklace.

"What's that in your hand, babe?"

Rory looked down and saw the box that Finn had given her. "My good bye present from Finn. He said to open it with you."

Lorelai heaved the suitcase onto the ground before getting on the bed, sitting cross legged and patting the spot across from her. "Well, don't keep mommy waiting. Let's see what the Aussie got you."

Rory smiled before getting back on the bed and opening it. A piece of paper fluttered out of the wrapping and she grabbed it and smiled.

"What's it say? What's it say?" Lorelai asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

"It says, 'One for you, one for your mom'," Rory read, confusion etching her voice.

"Oh, interesting. Now open the pretty box," Lorelai guided.

Rory smiled as she opened it. "Oh..."

"What? What?"

"They're earrings," Rory said turning the box.

"Come to mama!" Lorelai said taking the box.

"They're our birthstones," Rory said looking at them as well. One pair of earrings were opals and the other pair were diamonds.

"Oh, you better keep this one. If this is just a good bye present, I want to see what he gets you after not seeing each other for a year."

Rory laughed as she looked at the earrings. Finn had really outdone himself. It was obvious that her earrings were custom-made and Lorelai's were antique ones. Not that Rory was complaining.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory tossed her mom's suitcase into the back of the jeep, slamming the door closed.

"I could have breakables in there," Lorelai pointed out.

"I looked," Rory defended. "I made sure I wouldn't break anything."

"If my Bugs Bunny toothbrush is broken…" Lorelai warned, trailing off when she noticed five people coming up their walk. "You've got ten minutes, babe, then we hit the road."

Rory frowned, then turned around to see her friends and Logan walking up the driveway. She heard the door to the jeep close and the radio blast.

"Hey," Steph said. "You couldn't leave without your presents," she said, Tristan handing her a bag of the things they had gotten her.

"Thanks, guys," Rory said taking the bag. She opened the back door, greeted by the sounds of David Bowie and her mother's singing. She placed it in an open spot and closed the door again to drown out her mother's voice. "I'm glad you all came."

"How could we not say bye to you, Mar?" Tristan smirked.

"You have got to stop calling me that!" Rory begged exasperated.

"Have you said good bye to your grandparents yet?" Colin asked.

"Yep, they went out to something, we said good bye before they left."

'Then we'll say our goodbyes," Steph said hugging her. "I will see you in a few weeks."

"Definitely," Rory said as Steph pulled back. Tristan walked over and looked at her.

"So?" He asked. "Are we friends? Do we hug or shake?" He asked with a smirk, remembering when they had first met on the beach again.

"We're friends, Tristan," Rory laughed as she hugged him.

"Good," Tristan said hugging her back and kissing her cheek. "See you in a few."

"Of course," she smiled pulling back.

"We're going to get going," Steph said as Tristan took her hand.

"See you guys," Rory waved as they walked away.

"Yeah," Logan said looking back towards the gate.

"Don't worry about it, Logan," Rory said. "You can go."

"Right, well... Have a safe trip," he said awkwardly as he backed up.

"Thanks." She watched as he left, then turned to Colin and Finn.

"Finn told me about the trip to Stars Hollow on Friday," Colin said.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"And I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much trouble if I could tag along?"

"That'd be great, Colin," Rory said hugging him.

"I'll see you in a week, Rory."

"Bye Colin." She watched as he left as well, leaving her with her boyfriend. She felt him take her hand in his and smile, pulling her closer and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'm going to miss you, you know that?" Finn asked as he nuzzled her neck with his nose.

"It's only a week, Finn," she laughed. "What's going to happen when you leave for a year?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he said looking at her and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the opals glinting in the sunlight. "I'm glad you liked the earrings."

"Mom liked hers too."

"Good." He leaned down and kissed her. "Call me the minute you get home."

"I love that you're so overprotective."

He shrugged. "It'll wear off in a day or two," he teased.

"You know, for this being your first time, you're good at that boyfriend thing."

"Really?"

Rory nodded. "Yes." She got on her tip toes and kissed him.

"Two minutes!" Lorelai yelled closing her door again.

"I should go, mom wants to get on the road. I also promised Lane a wallowing session."

"Friday," he whispered against her lips.

"I'll wait with bated breath," she said leaning into his lips and kissing him fully.

"All right, go or I won't let you leave."

"I'll call when I get home," she promised kissing him one last time.

"I'll be waiting," Finn said. He watched her get in the car and then it drive slowly down the driveway until it turned the corner leaving him alone. She was right, if it was so hard to leave her for a week, what would happen come time when he left for a year?

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"You okay, kid?" Lorelai asked as they hit the freeway.

"You know, it's weird," Rory said turning in her seat and turning down the music to talk to her mom. "I met Finn three months ago, dated him for a month and now he's been my boyfriend for three days. And I feel like crap because I'm not with him."

"Sweets, you felt that with Dean and Jess," Lorelai reminded.

"Actually..." Rory worried her lip and smiled slightly. "I didn't. It was never like that with Dean, or Jess. Because I knew that I'd see them eventually. Dean always made it a priority to spend time with me. And Jess... well, we saw each other when he wasn't at work and I wasn't at school. But with Finn..."

"It's your first long distance relationship," Lorelai supplied

Rory nodded. "I like him, a lot. But it's scary that I've never felt this with anyone, that we're fitting in as much time we can before he leaves for a year."

"There's always the phone, babe, letters, e-mail."

"I know that," Rory said. "But not seeing him for a year..."

Lorelai glanced at her daughter quickly before looking back on the road. "Rory, you guys will make it work. I mean, you're eighteen. As much as I hate to say, but if it doesn't work, it's not the end of the world."

"I guess," Rory said turning back around and facing the road.

"I didn't mean to scare you, babe."

"I know."

"You and Finn, you're good for each other. It'll work."

"I hope so," she whispered, her hand going up to her neck to play with the ring.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

****

**_A.N: Please Go To My Blog For An Important Message!_**


	9. Half In Love

_**Part 9: Half In Love**_

"Lane!" Rory shouted as she jumped out of the still idle car and towards her Korean best friend, who had jumped up from the Gilmore porch upon hearing the rumble of the ancient Gilmore Jeep.

"Rory!" Lane shouted back as they embraced.

Lorelai watched as the life long friends hugged with a smile on her face. Rory may have made a lot of new friends, and gotten herself a boyfriend, down in Martha's Vineyard, but she would never forget about the loyalties she had to the town.

"Tell me everything!" Lane demanded as they walked inside, Lorelai trailing behind them. They could probably convince Luke to unpack their car if asked nicely. "I want to know about this Aussie of yours."

"No!" Rory said stopping in the foyer.

"Wow, the only time she won't talk about her Australian hunk," Lorelai teased as she went to the kitchen to start on the coffee. Rory glared as she and Lane followed.

"I meant no, Lane, me and you have to wallow, her and Dave broke up and she should wallow properly."

"But you have a boyfriend now!" Lane protested.

Rory shrugged. "So?"

"You can't wallow if you have a boyfriend," Lane pointed out.

"Okay," Rory sighed, looking at her mother's amused face. "Then let's not look at it as a wallowing, how about a girls' night?"

"Oh!" Lorelai said jumping up and down in excitement. "I'm so in. Rory, Lane, you guys get the goodies from Doose's, Rory, break into the candy money. I'll attempt to get everything out of the car and clean up the living room."

Lane and Rory stood staring at Lorelai in amazement.

"Well, don't just stand there! Go! Go! Go!"

Rory and Lane rushed out of the house, upon Lorelai's command, laughing as they reached the sidewalk, then slowed to a walk catching their breaths, still laughing.

"So tell me!" Lane ordered as they walked down the streets towards Doose's Market.

"I don't feel right about it," Rory shrugged.

"I'm your best friend!" Lane exclaimed. "I have rights to know about my best friend's new boyfriend! It's part of the Geneva Convention of Best Friends rules. It said so at the last meeting."

Rory gasped in mock outrage. "And why wasn't I invited to this meeting?"

"'Cause you were playing kissy face with the Aussie!" Lane laughed as they walked into the market, each grabbing a basket, and grabbed the necessary items.

"I just think, that with you just broken up and me newly attached..." Rory trailed off hoping Lane would catch her drift with the best friend ESP they had devolved over the years.

"That it would be wrong for you to be happy and me to be sad," Lane continued. Apparently her best friend ESP skills were being put to good use.

"Yeah."

"Rory, don't worry about me!" Lane said. "Now tell me all about him!"

Rory gave a sigh and smiled finally giving in. "Fine."

They paid for their items carrying the bags back to the house, Rory telling Lane all the details about her and Finn's four day relationship. She told her how they had met, and how he had asked her to be his girlfriend.

"Then he gave me his class ring," Rory said fingering the ring around her neck.

"Awww," Lane cooed as they walked up the porch and into the house where Lorelai was on the phone.

"Yeah, make that four pizzas and add the cheesy bread. Thanks, Joe," Lorelai hung up and helped them with the bags.

"God, Finn is probably the sweetest guy ever!" Lane said sitting at the table as Rory and Lorelai emptied the bags of junk food.

"Also the richest guy ever," Lorelai murmured.

"Money has nothing to do with it," Rory said with a roll of her eyes. "I didn't know he had money when I met him and I didn't care after I knew."

"I know, babe. But come on, it helps the matters, doesn't it?"

Rory shrugged. "I like him for him, not for what he's worth. Though according to Steph, they're all worth billions."

"And she doesn't care," Lorelai said. "Has she shown you what he got us for our going away present?"

"Oh," Lane said. "Not only did he give you his class ring but he got you something else?"

"What my mother fails to mention is that everyone got me something. Except Logan." Rory frowned, then shrugged, popping an M&M into her mouth.

"So what did he get you?" Lane asked, curiosity eating her up. Rory tucked her hair behind her ears and showed her the birthstone earrings. "Oh wow, those are amazing."

"You should see mom's," Rory told her. Lane looked at Lorelai expectantly. Lorelai smiled.

"They're in my suitcase," Lorelai laughed. "Now let's choose our movies and get this party started!" Lorelai declared walking into the living room with bowls in her arms. Lane and Rory laughed before following suit and grabbing bowls and going into the living room.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Still hasn't called?" Tristan asked as he and Steph walked into the living room where Finn was pacing by the phone. Colin and Logan were playing on the Xbox, Colin, a look of amusement on his face, obviously not because of the game, and Logan, one of annoyance, not because he was losing.

"No," Logan clipped leaning his body to the left, as if that would help his car on the screen.

"And are you in a bad mood?" Steph asked as Tristan sat down on the recliner and she made herself comfortable on his lap.

Logan sent her a glare before returning his eyes on the screen.

"She said she'd call once she got home," Finn said pausing in his pacing. "They left at nine and they should get back around noon, right?"

"Right," Steph agreed. "But you know Rory, maybe they made a stop somewhere? Went to her dad's?"

"No," Finn shook his head. "She wanted to get back to see Lane."

"Maybe she forgot?" Logan added causing Colin to shove him forcibly with a glare.

"Shut up, Logan," Colin muttered.

Logan shrugged. "It could happen, maybe she forgot?"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "How 'bout you call her, Finn?"

Finn shrugged. "Wouldn't seem too needy?"

Steph laughed, then covered her mouth as Finn narrowed his eyes at her. "Sorry, just this is fun to watch. One of the men most afraid of commitment is now afraid to seem needy. Oh, this is great," she laughed clapping her hands together.

"Was that a yes or a no?" Finn asked.

"Finn, she's your girlfriend, correct?" Steph asked.

"Last time I checked."

"So a boyfriend has the right to call his girlfriend, at night, just to talk when they're far away from each other... are you catching my drift?"

"Right. So call?"

"God, you boys need everything spelled out for you. Yes," she said exasperated. "Call! God, I wonder what Rory saw in you?"

"Wow," Tristan said in mock awe. "Two insults in one breath." He clapped his hands together in sarcasm. "You have beaten your own record, Miss McCrea."

"Shut up, Tristan." Steph looked over at Finn as he dialed the number and put the phone to his ear, sitting on the free space on the couch.

"Do you really need to talk to her in here?" Logan asked.

"Yep," Finn answered easily as he listened to the phone ring.

Colin snickered as he bypassed Logan's car and won the race.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

They heard the phone ring and groaned, all looking towards it sitting innocently on the desk, then back at their comfortable positions.

"Rory," Lorelai whined. "You're closer."

"Are you kidding me?" Rory asked. She was sitting on the floor, her legs tucked underneath the coffee table, Lane sitting next to her while her mother lay on the couch. "You're closest and oldest!" Rory pointed out.

"Is that your way of saying I'm old!"

"Yep," Rory said causing Lane to laugh.

"Mean," Lorelai said swinging her feet to the floor, 'accidentally' hitting Rory's head with one of her feet.

"Hey!" Rory said rubbing her head.

"Sorry," Lorelai laughed as she grabbed the phone from the desk and answered. "Stars Hollow Pound, Kirk is indisposed right now, but this is Lorelai, how may I help you?"

Finn frowned into the phone as someone answered.

"Lorelai?" He asked.

Lorelai got a wicked grin on her face. "Yes?"

"Is Rory there?"

"Yes."

Finn frowned deeper. "Can I talk to her?"

"I don't know," Lorelai shrugged looking over at Rory and Lane's confused faces. "I mean, she didn't want to pick up the phone in the first place, what makes you think she's going to get up for you?"

"Um..."

"I mean I know the accent is supposed to be charming and all.," Lorelai laughed as Rory got up from the floor and rushed towards the phone.

"Mom, please give me the phone!"

"Nope!" Lorelai laughed taking the phone away from her ear and hugging it close to her body. Rory tried getting it from her but her mother blocked her shots.

Finn listened to a static sound, then laughter, then Rory's voice.

"Mom, give me the phone!" He heard.

"Why is it that when the phone first rang you didn't want to answer, but the minute you find out it's the Aussie, you run for the phone!"

"Oh! I'm calling Miss Patty, we are so betting on who wins!" He heard another voice say.

"Mom!" Rory said trying to reach the phone. They were standing on the couch, Lorelai with the phone in her hand over her head while Rory reached for it. Lane was watching in amusement. Rory had never been so wound up for a guy before. Dean and Jess had never gotten Rory to stand on the couch trying to reach the phone, not even at the beginning of the relationships. Rory must really like this guy.

Finn continued to listen to the fight, now amused by everything he was hearing.

"What's going on?" Steph asked, looking at Finn's laughing face.

"Lorelai and Rory are fighting for the phone," Finn said listening, they were naming pop artists now.

"Dido!" Lorelai yelled.

"Barry Manilow!" Rory yelled

Lorelai gasped. "You promised!"

"I promised nothing, now give me the phone!"

"No!"

"Mom! I haven't talked to him in forever!"

"Eleven hours!" Lorelai corrected, then smiled wickedly. "Rory and Finn sitting in a tree..."

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Lane sang.

"Lane!" Rory said looking over at her best friend.

"What? It's a reflex, you hear the song and you have to sing!"

"First came love, then came marriage, then came baby in a baby carriage!" Lorelai sang out.

Finn burst out laughing, causing his friends to look at him oddly. Finn held up a finger before standing up and going over to the phone and putting it on speaker phone, hanging up the cordless so they could hear.

"Mom!"

"No!"

"Please, I never did this when Max called!"

"He was your teacher, you were afraid he'd give you an F if you withheld the phone from me!"

"I was not afraid. Dammit, give me the phone!"

"Why didn't you get this riled up with Jess? Or Dean?"

"Mom!" Rory warned.

"Oh crap! Lane!" Lorelai screamed, then they heard a dial tone. Finn was smirking at the phone before dialing again while the others laughed. Logan rolled his eyes

Rory grabbed the phone from where Lorelai dropped it, after threatening her with a shaken can of Coca Cola. She put it up to her ear and smiled.

"Finn?" She heard nothing and glared at her mother. "You hung up on him!"

"You shouldn't have aimed!" Lorelai accused coming out from her hiding spot from behind the couch, Lane laughing hysterically on the floor.

"You hung up on him!" Rory repeated.

"You should have answered the phone in the first place!"

"You hung up on him!"

"It was an accident!" Before Rory could reply, the phone rang. She pressed the answer button hurriedly.

"Finn?"

"Eager, aren't we?"

Rory smiled and did a little happy dance. "Sorry, my mom wouldn't give me the phone, then she hung up."

"Not on purpose! I like you Finn, really!" Lorelai yelled.

"Tell her I know."

"He knows," Rory repeated. "So did all you guys have fun at our expense?"

"Yes!" Everyone echoed.

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"Yes!" Everyone said again.

"Finn!"

"Right." She heard a click, then Finn's voice, louder and clearer. "Hello love."

"Hi," she replied sitting down on the couch.

"You didn't call like you promised."

"I know, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I got back, then me and Lane went to the store, and we've been having girls' night in, Mom forbid me from calling, I begged and pleaded, but she wouldn't let me near the phone, I mean you heard us."

"You forgot," Finn told her laughingly.

"No!"

"You forgot."

"Okay, just for a little while!" Rory exclaimed with a laugh. Lorelai looked at her daughter as she talked to her boyfriend. She hated to admit it, but Finn was making her happy in a way no other boyfriend had. And in a way different that Lorelai could. She saw Rory bite her lip and smile.

"I miss you too."

"Awwwwww!" Lane and Lorelai both put in causing Rory to glare at them and get off the couch. She went to her room, closing the door, and sitting on her bed.

"Sorry, mom and Lane are a bit sugar high."

"It's all right, love, having fun?" Finn asked going up to his own room, after sensing Logan's annoyance coming out in waves.

"Yep, we got back about twelve, me and Lane went to go get a whole bunch of junk food and then my mom, Lane and I have been watching movies and gorging on food and candy. I think we have Chinese coming in a few minutes. What about you?"

"The usual. Beach, lunch, came back and watched TV and drank. Tristan and Steph went out to a movie. It's quite boring without you."

"Did you just say quite?"

"I did."

Rory laughed. "It sounds good coming from you, from me no, but from you yes."

"I miss you," Finn sighed.

"Just wait till Friday, then you can come into town and we'll spend the whole day together."

"With Colin," Finn reminded.

"We'll ditch Colin," Rory shrugged with a smile. "We can probably get Lane to show him around. I think her mom has that Christian Bible camp thing to run. Not quite sure."

"It does sound good when you say it," Finn told her.

"Say what?"

"Quite," Finn laughed.

Rory gave a small laugh, then laid in her bed, the phone on her ear. "I really want it to be Friday."

Finn smiled over the phone and nodded. "So do I, love, so do I."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So what'd the Aussie say?" Lorelai asked when Rory came out of her room and hung up the phone.

Rory shrugged. "We miss each other. It's weird talking to him on the phone, it's not the same."

"I know, babe. But you're going to have to get used to it," Lorelai pointed out.

Rory sighed. "I know." She picked up the letters that were banded together and frowned. "I didn't know I had mail."

"That's right, and we have a rule, Rory doesn't open her mail till next week," Lorelai told her.

"Why?" Rory asked looking at her mother.

"'Cause I have a week off and we are going to be in vacation land till Monday. We are going to have the perfect two weeks. The rest of the night I dedicated to all 80's movies, or until we pass out. We relax all this week, roam around town and do whatever it is we do when we're lazy."

"Sleep on the couch, stay in our pajamas and eat whatever near our hands, and watch whatever is on TV when we lose the remote?"

"Exactly. Then next Sunday we will make the rounds and say hello to everyone, wait till you see Sookie and her huge stomach."

Rory laughed and let her mother continue.

"Monday we hit the three of the crappier movies then are out and yell at the screen wanting our lives back."

"You can yell at the screen, I will maintain a five feet distance at all times," Rory said.

Lorelai gave a mock glare. "Tuesday we hit New York, see all those fancy art galleries you love and hit the strand. Wednesday we get all the things you need for school"

"Barbeque's at Sookie's," Lane added.

Lorelai nodded. "Right and barbeque at Sookie's. Thursday is mani/pedi day, facial, haircut and got to the psychic and stock up for night 'cause we are having a Godfather marathon. Godfather I, II, and III, and extra scenes of the Sofia death scene over and over and over again. Then Friday I have reserved for you and your beau to spend the day together, then Yale!"

Rory smiled before throwing the letters back on the desk and sat down on the sofa. "Sounds great."

"So now that you two have the next two weeks planned, what do we do now?" Lane asked.

"Duckie!" Rory said.

"Yeah, yeah, Duckie!" Lorelai said as excitedly, getting up and putting _Pretty In Pink_ for them to watch.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn went back down the stairs and hung up the phone before sitting back on the couch.

"Hey! I didn't get to talk to her!" Steph whined.

"You can call her on your own," Finn told her with a smile. "I called to talk to my girlfriend, not to share her."

"Jeez, for a guy that's never committed, he sure does have the possessive thing down," Steph muttered.

"How's Rory?" Colin asked.

"Good, her and her mom and Lane were watching eighties movies and stuffing their faces with things that no girl that skinny should be eating and be able to stay that way," Finn laughed. "She's having fun."

"You miss her," Steph said softly.

"Yes, I do," Finn admitted, placing his feet on the coffee table.

"If you miss her after eleven hours, how's it going to work when you're gone for a year?" Logan asked.

Finn shrugged. "Like I told Rory, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It'll be hard, but I think we can make it work."

"Is she excited for Yale?" Tristan asked, hoping to get Logan off Finn's back.

"I'm not sure," Finn told him. "It's like she has all the time in the world. I sort of feel bad about stealing her on Friday."

"Why?" Steph asked.

"Because it's her last day in Stars Hollow, living there and all. And I'm taking her to Hartford that night."

"That's right, your dad's annual Yale Alum party," Tristan nodded. "My mom called about that."

"Yep, and I want dad and Rory to meet. I think they'll get along well. I know dad'll love her. Who couldn't?"

"And that's my cue," Logan said getting up. "See you guys later." He grabbed his jacket and left the house closing the door loudly as he left.

"Why doesn't he like her?" Steph asked. "I mean I haven't known her as long as Tristan or you, guys, but she's really nice, wouldn't hurt a fly, so what is Logan's problem?"

Tristan smirked. "I think Huntz is jealous."

"What?" Colin asked.

Finn looked at him confused "Of what?"

"Of you, my friend," Tristan said with a smirk

"Of me? Why would Logan be jealous of me?" Finn asked.

"Because you have everything Logan doesn't. Cool dad, weird, but cooler than any of ours. And as much as you hate to admit it, a caring mom. And now, my dear Finnegan, you have the girl."

"Rory?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steph smiled, catching on to what Tristan was getting at. "Yeah, she's smart, beautiful and likes you. It's the one girl, other than me, that's not interested in Logan. He realizes that you have the one thing he might not ever get a chance at."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Finn asked amused, leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Love," Colin whispered. They all turned to him and Finn looked at him wide eyed. "Don't give me that look, Finn, we all know that you're half in love with her already and she's half in love with you. Logan might not ever get that. Not with who his parents are."

Tristan shrugged. "Way I see it, Logan is pissed that she chose you over him."

Finn looked at the TV contemplating what his friends had just told him. Could it be possible that Logan didn't like Rory, because she didn't throw herself at his feet when they first met, but instead opted for himself? Finn sighed and shook his head. There had to be more to it than that.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_


	10. Saturdays And What of Them

_**Part 10: Saturdays And What of Them**_

"So you guys are back?" Rory asked as her and Lane exited Andrew's book shop after an afternoon shopping spree, with arms full of bags of books Rory liked.

"Yep," Steph said excitedly. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, why's that?" Rory asked with a laugh as she and Lane looked both ways before jogging across the street to go back to her house.

"Finn's dad's party."

"That's next Friday, Steph," Rory said automatically.

Steph laughed. "No, sweetie, it's tomorrow."

"No," Rory said stopping next to the gazebo, "Yale starts next Saturday, the day after the party. Next week."

"Rory honey," Steph said a bit worriedly. "I'm looking at the Yale orientation letter that I got in the mail. I got it a few days ago. It says here that Yale starts on Saturday. That's why Tris and me came back from Martha's Vineyard early, to get all our stuff without rushing."

"You're not just teasing me, right? You know, first year Yale student, why not tease her until she has a nervous breakdown?"

"Rory, me and Tristan are first years too."

"Oh no," Rory said hanging up her phone.

"Rory?" Lane asked nervously

"We have to go home, find that letter and kill Lorelai."

"Wha..." Lane watched as Rory started running down the street towards her house. "Well, she's running, must be important... and now I'm talking to myself. Run, Lane, run!" Lane said to herself as she ran down the street with Rory. Lane caught up with her best friend just as she opened the door to the house. Lane followed and closed the door, setting down the bags.

"Hey, hey! No mail, you promised we're still on vacation." Lorelai shouted from her position of lying on the couch. Her head was tilted back to look at Rory who was frantically looking through her mail.

"You, no talking right now!" Rory ordered as she found the letter and dropped the rest of the mail to open it. She pulled the piece of paper out and scanned the words sucking in her breath. "Oh no."

"What?" Lorelai asked sitting up.

"Oh no."

"What 'oh no'?"

Rory walked towards her bedroom, the letter clenched in her hand as she went to her desk to her planner. "Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh no."

"Rory, you're freaking me and Lane out here, what's going on?"

"I wrote the date down wrong."

"What?" Lorelai asked confused as she and Lane walked towards Rory.

"Yale, I wrote the date down wrong. My orientation is on Saturday."

"Yeah, Ror," Lane said. "Next Saturday."

"No, this Saturday."

"No, next Saturday," Lorelai corrected once again.

"No, Mom, this Saturday."

"But today's Thursday, that means we..."

"It means I have to start school the day after tomorrow."

"No!" Lorelai said as she looked at Rory's planner and grabbed the paper from her hands looking at both dates. "But we had the next week planned."

"Yeah, well, I wrote the date down wrong," Rory said looking at her planner in disbelief.

"How could you write the date down wrong!" Lorelai exclaimed. "That's probably the most un-Rory thing in the world!"

"I don't know, I wrote it down before Martha's Vineyard and I wrote it down wrong."

"You guys had the next week planned." Lane said.

"I can't believe you wrote the date down wrong."

"I can't believe you wouldn't open my mail."

"I can't believe you wrote the date down wrong!" Lorelai repeated.

"I can't believe I had to find out from Stephanie!"

"This isn't fair, you have more 'I can't believes' than I do."

"This sucks," Lane said.

"This totally sucks," Lorelai agreed.

"Now we won't get Medi/Pedi day, or Godfather and watching Sofia dying over and over again."

"Okay, we just have to plan this out."

"Paper," Rory said randomly.

"What?" Lane and Lorelai asked in confusion.

"Pad! Pen! List! Go!"

"Right, no time for full sentence! I'll get the pad! Lane, you find a pen!"

"Right!"

They both rushed out of the room, leaving Rory alone to stare at the piece of paper she had grabbed from her mother's hands. "I can't believe I wrote the date down wrong," she whispered before rushing to the living room when Lane had announced she had found a pen.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So this is Stars Hollow?" Colin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep," Finn nodded as they walked towards the gazebo.

"It's... small."

"Cozy," Finn corrected.

"That's just a nice word for small," Colin laughed. He looked around and saw a group of three women standing around. Colin frowned and nudged Finn. "Isn't that Rory?"

"Yeah," Finn smiled. "And that's Lorelai. I'm guessing the other girl is Lane." They began walking towards them, catching more and more of their conversation as they neared.

"Okay, we've got sheets, towels, bathroom shower caddy and the basic First Aid accouterments. We still need to hit the beauty supply store, the hardware store and the stationary store," Rory said.

"The mattress store," Lorelai said.

"I thought Ivy League colleges supplied you with a mattress?" Lane asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai said. "A mattress that decades of students have slept on, some of them naked."

"Eww," Rory and Lane said in disgust.

"I'm adding mattress store," Rory said adding it to the list.

"Good girl," Lorelai nodded in approval.

"We've been running around for hours, and that list Rory has has been getting longer every time we meet up," Lane said.

"We are never going to finish," Rory groaned.

"No, stop, yes we are. We just need to split up."

"Right," Rory agreed looking down at her list. Finn took that as his opportunity to swoop down and kiss her cheek.

"Hello, love."

"Hi Finn," Rory said absently, causing Colin to laugh. "Okay," she said looking up at the girls, ignoring the amused looks on both their faces. "Lane, you take the stationary store, I'll take the hardware store, and mom, you take the beauty supply store."

"Why does she get the stationary store and I get Kirk?" Lorelai asked, casting a glance at the beauty supply store.

"'Cause Lane knows what pens I like," Rory said. "Then we'll see about the mattress store."

"Right, maybe even get a new bed too." Lorelai teased, sending at wink at Finn who smirked.

Rory frowned at her mother. "Why would I need a new bed, I just need the mattress."

"'Cause I think you and Finn won't fit in the twin Yale gives you."

"I think she's right."

Rory looked up in surprise to see her boyfriend's grinning face. "Oh my god!" She said hugging him. "When did you get here?"

"He kissed you three minutes ago," Lane laughed.

"You did?"

"You were busy, I understand," Finn said kissing her lightly.

"Aww, Rory, you have BFF approval," Lane said happily.

"Thanks, Lane," Rory laughed kissing Finn softly. "And it's a good thing you're here."

"Hey Rory," Colin said with a small wave.

Rory turned and smiled at him, giving him a hug. "Hey Colin. Then I rephrase everything I just said. It's a good thing you're both here."

"Oh yeah, why's that?" Colin asked.

"Rory didn't open her mail till yesterday." Lorelai said.

"Only because you wouldn't let me!" Rory exclaimed letting go of Finn to look at her mom.

"And you listen to everything I say?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.

"Uh... yeah!" Rory said. "Okay, Colin, you go with Lane. Finn, you come with me. Mom, you get to face Kirk all alone. Say hi to my future daddy."

"Once, Rory, once. He asked me out once!"

"Come on, Finn, I think my mom wants to go see my daddy alone."

"The horse is dead, Rory! Put the stick down!" Lorelai shouted after her. Rory sent a smile over her shoulder as she led Finn to the hardware store.

Lane sighed as she looked at the stationary store. "I should probably get notebooks too, huh?"

"Get purple ones, she just loves those," Lorelai said with a smirk as she grudgingly went to the beauty supply store.

"I'm Lane," she said to Colin who was looking amused. "Lane Kim, Rory's best friend."

"Colin McCrea, one of Finn's best friends."

"She's talked about you guys," Lane said as they started walking to the stationary store.

"All good I hope."

Lane nodded. "She's fond of all of you guys. It's weird, seeing as she hated Tristan in Chilton, and now he's one of her best friends along with you and your cousin. And she talks about Finn non stop."

Colin nodded. "Finn adores Rory, you could tell when they first met. He's good for her."

"I can see it," Lane nodded as they entered the store and started pursuing the aisle.

"Hey Lane?" Colin asked stopping her as she was about to turn the corner into one of the aisles.

"Yeah?" Lane asked, looking at some paper that Rory might like.

"I'm sorry."

Lane looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Rory said I jinxed your relationship. I never meant to ruin what you and your boyfriend had. I'm sorry."

Lane smiled and gave a small laugh "That's really sweet of you, but you didn't ruin my relationship with Dave. It would have never worked out anyway. Trust me, but thank you."

"Welcome, now what kind of paper does Rory like?"

Lane smiled at him and showed him the difference of papers, according to the Lorelai Leigh Gilmore school rule book.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So when'd you guys get in?" Rory asked as Finn opened the door to the hardware store for her.

"This morning. Colin went home to say hi to his parents and I went home to see my dad. What do you need from the hardware store, love?"

"Well, I need towel bars. How's your dad?"

"He's good," Finn said. "He's excited to meet you."

"Really, when?"

Finn looked at her confused. "Tonight, the party..."

Rory stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. "Shoot, that's tonight, isn't it?"

Finn nodded. "Yes, that's why I had to come back today, so did Logan and Colin. We have to be there, same with Steph and Tristan."

Rory bit her lip and ran through the things that she needed to do. She still had a mountain of things to do, as well as pack.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Finn asked amused.

"I've been so caught up with getting my things for school that I completely forgot. I'm so sorry, Finn."

"Don't worry about it, love, I'll tell my dad..."

"No, I'm still going," Rory told him.

"But you still have to..."

"Lane and my mom can get the rest of my things," Rory told him. "Mom can probably even convince Luke to help. Shoot, how did I forget about this?"

"Hey, don't worry about it, you've been rushed to get things for school. Come on, let's get the things you need from here." He looked at his watch

"What time is it?" Rory asked as she grabbed utility hooks.

"Noon, me and Colin have to leave around four to go get ready and I need to help my dad with some things. I can be back around seven to pick you up, the party starts at eight."

Rory nodded. "Perfect, maybe before you leave, you can help me pick out a mattress," she said kissing him softly.

"Oh, don't tease, love," Finn laughed as he followed her.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Have you seen my strappy gold heels?" Rory asked as she walked out of her room, putting on an earring.

"In my room," Lorelai called out as she took another bag out to Luke's truck.

"Jeez," Luke complained as he lugged the mattress on the bed of the truck. "You'd think a fancy school like Yale would have a mattress."

"Yeah, go figure, huh?" Lorelai teased as she threw the bag in.

Luke looked at the black bag with a frown. "You packed her stuff in hefty bags?"

"Hey, she's lucky I even had these in the house."

Luke was about to respond back to that when a Mercedes pulled up to the house and parked behind his truck.

"Who's that?"

"Rory's boyfriend." Lorelai smiled as Finn got out of the car wearing a suit. "Wow, Rory really does have good taste," she told him as Finn got closer. "Not even Dean looked this good in a suit."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Finn laughed. He turned to the large man standing on the truck bed who was eyeing him. "You must be Luke, Rory's spoken highly of you."

Luke didn't say a word, he kept staring at Finn. Lorelai bit her lip and took Finn's arm. "Let's get you inside, hun."

"Good idea," Finn muttered as they walked into the house.

"Now I can't find my bracelet," Rory shouted from her room.

"Make yourself comfortable, Finn." She watched Finn raise an eyebrow as he saw the multitude of black hefty bags covering the living room. "Well, as comfortable as you can," she said as she went into Rory's room.

Finn looked around the room and had to smile. This was Rory and Lorelai. It was small, yet he could definitely see them living here, watching movies and bantering like they did. He walked over to the mantle and looked at the pictures they had there.

"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked as she ran up the stairs.

"I've looked everywhere else!" Rory shouted as she came into the living room. Finn turned and felt his breath catch as he saw her.

She was wearing a long white halter dress that was covered in antique lace. A light pink sash was tied around her waist, the ends falling to middle of her legs. She wore gold strappy heels that brought her to his height.

She smiled. "What do you think?" She asked turning around, revealing her bare back before turning forwards again.

"Absolutely stunning, love," Finn told her.

"Good," Rory said, "Then Steph paid good money."

"Steph?" Finn asked confused.

"Here's the bracelet," Lorelai said as she ran back down the stairs.

"Thanks, mom," Rory said as she put it on.

"Purse?" Lorelai asked.

"I have a clutch," Rory said going back to her room and grabbing it. She came back putting in her phone.

"When you get back, you will be mostly packed," Lorelai promised. "I've got Lane doing some last minute things before she has to make Mama Kim's curfew, then sneak out and help us get the rest."

"Thanks, mom."

"I'll bring her back early," Finn promised.

"No need," Lorelai waved off. "We've got everything under control."

Lorelai led them out where Luke was still arranging everything in his truck so that he could fill it to maximum capacity.

"Thanks so much for your help, Luke," Rory said as she stopped by the truck.

"It's my pleasure, Rory, and you look beautiful," he told her.

"Thanks, I'll see you guys later." Rory smiled as they went to Finn's car. He opened the door for her, helping her in before closing it before going over to his side and getting in and driving off.

"I like him," Luke announced as Lorelai handed him another bag.

"Really?"

"Yeah, much better than Dean and I hate what I'm about to say, but Jess too. He looks like he's good for her."

Lorelai smiled as she handed him another bag. "Good, 'cause I have a feeling he's here to stay."

"Yeah, I could get used to him."

"Good, so Luke..." Lorelai looked up at him as he pushed the mattress back against the truck to fit some boxes.

"Yeah."

"Did something happen between you and Nicole?"

"Enter the queen of segue ways," Luke muttered as he jumped off the truck.

"It's just you've been very tight lipped about the cruise since you got back. I mean we're friends, right? Friends tell each other things. So why won't you tell me?"

"Because."

"Wow, monosyllabic man made his return with a vengeance."

Luke glared at her before sighing and sitting on the porch, Lorelai following.

"Did something happen with Nicole?" She repeated.

"Yes"

"What, did you propose?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god, you proposed," she said wide-eyed.

"Yes, I proposed."

"This is big, this is huge!"

"There's more."

"There's more? Okay, well, what? Did she say yes?"

"Yes."

"She said yes, you proposed and she said yes, Wow, I-"

"There's more."

"And there's more after you proposed and she said yes. What, you…"

"We got married."

Lorelai sat stunned as she stared at him. "You got married?"

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"You do look absolutely stunning," Finn said as he kissed her hand that was clenched in his.

"Are you sure I'm not overdressed?"

"No," Finn said as he pulled into his driveway. "You look amazing."

"I can't believe I passed this dress up."

"What?" He asked confused as he parked.

"The dress, it's the dress Steph gave me for my going away present."

"The one that cost too much?"

"Way too much," Rory corrected.

"Well, it's beautiful. I'm going to have to thank Steph for buying it for you."

"Hmm, I'll thank her myself," she laughed as he got out of the car and went around to open hers. He held out his hand which she took and stepped out. He put his hands on her hips to steady her and kissed her quickly.

"I hope he doesn't hate me," Rory whispered.

"You're going to Yale, he'll love you."

"Finn," Rory said slapping his arm.

Finn laughed and kissed her again. "He'll love you, Rory, he's dying to meet you."

Rory bit her lip. "Really?"

"Truly, now come on." He laughed as he closed her door and led her to the door to the mansion. Rory interlaced their fingers as he opened the door and were greeted by the many voices and laughter of the Yale alumni.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Finn reassured her.

"Let's hope you're right," Rory muttered under her breath as he led her further into the house.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

**_AN:_** Like I said, the chapter now will be season four with a few twists of my own. All conversations from season four I got from Twiz TV. I will use a lot of conversation for the sake of the story... but as well as conversations that I've loved during this season. There are a few I'm eager to use lol.

Next chapter will be the party!

Kassandra


	11. Eccentric Dads and Disappointed Moms

_**Part 11: Eccentric Dads and Disappointed Moms**_

"Finn!" They heard the minute they stepped inside. Turning, they found a tall man walking towards them. Rory watched as Finn smiled as he directed them towards him.

"Dad," Finn said as they stood in front of him. Rory looked at him. He was about three inches taller than Finn, he had his black short hair slicked back and his eyes covered with stylish glasses which were more for show than actual use.

"Finn, I was wondering when you would get here, this her?" He asked, as he dipped the sunglasses down his nose to look at her better.

Finn smiled and nodded eagerly. "This is Rory. Rory, this is my dad, Roland Rothschild."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Rothschild," Rory said sticking out her hand.

Roland laughed and shook her hand. "The pleasure is all mine, Rory, and please call me Roland."

"Oh wow," Rory said turning his hand over to see his fingernails pointed a deep purple. Finn held in his breath as Roland looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Rory?" Roland asked.

"Sorry," she said letting go, "It's just that's a really nice color. I've been looking for something like that, but sadly Stars Hollow only has reds and pinks. I blame Kirk, he's going through a Barbie phase."

Roland and Finn looked at her in surprise as she blinked at them innocently.

"Sorry, was that too forward of me?" She asked immediately after seeing their stare.

Roland laughed as he nodded. "I'll tell you where I got my nail polish if you tell me where you got that dress." Rory gave him a smile as he turned to Finn who exhaled. "Finn, she's a keeper."

"Thanks, dad," Finn smiled.

"Now I have to go find Arthur, he still owes me two grand. Swore I wouldn't show up at the Cordswith party in a dress. I proved him wrong. Shelby's talking with some friends in the kitchen, make sure you say hi."

"Of course, dad."

"Rory, me and you will talk later," he said as he walked off with a smile.

Rory smiled at Finn who was looking at her adoringly. "I like your dad."

"I think my dad likes you," Finn said. "I should of warned you he's a bit..."

"Eccentric?"

"Gay was going to my word, but eccentric is good."

"Is your dad..."

"I thought that fact that he was a cross dresser was a sure fire sign that he was gay."

Rory laughed and shook her head. "No, it isn't."

Finn frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean Dr. Frank-N-Furter was a cross dresser but he wasn't gay," she said as they walked deeper into the party.

"But he made Rocky Horror, for himself," Finn pointed out.

"Yeah, but he also slept with Susan Sarandon in that movie."

"And with her fiancé."

"Okay, so he was bi... whatever. The point is that if you're a cross dresser, you're not automatically gay."

"Who's not gay?" They looked up and saw Tristan and Stephanie standing in front of them.

"Dr. Frank-N-Furter," Rory and Finn said at the same time.

"Oh... okay..." Stephanie frowned, then smiled when she saw Rory, hugging her. "See! I told you that dress looked good on you!"

"I have to thank you for buying it for her, Steph," Finn said kissing her cheek in greeting.

"Speechless, huh?" Steph asked Rory who smiled.

"I think he went into cardiac arrest," Rory laughed.

"Come on, we'll get some drinks and talk," Steph said as she pulled Rory away towards the bar, leaving the boys alone.

"Wow, it's like they haven't seen each other in years and not the week that it's been, and even in that week, they talk to each other every day," Tristan pointed out.

"Girls," Finn shrugged as they walked away to mingle with the guests.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"You got married," Lorelai said in shock. "How could you get married?"

"We asked the captain and he married us," Luke said with a shrug.

"And that's legal?" Lorelai asked incredulously. Luke was married. Married. Did he even know the responsibility that entailed? That meant he had to get a queen bed, not that crap of a twin.

"Apparently," Luke answered, causing her to focus on him again.

"So you're married? You're legally married? This is just-"

"Actually, there's a little more," Luke said cutting her off.

"And she's pregnant," Lorelai muttered covering her face with her hands, trying to wrap her mind around everything that was being shot at her. Her head shot up. "Oh my god, you finally reproduced."

"We're getting divorced," Luke told her with a roll of his eyes.

"Good thing I'm sitting down," she muttered looking at the floor boards of the porch.

"It just happened so fast," Luke told her.

"Well, yeah," she scoffed.

"I mean you're on this boat in the middle of nowhere and everything's moving and you feel weird all the time. There's this endless supply of food and drink. Uh, midnight buffets, by the way, are the reason the rest of the world hates us."

Lorelai rolled her eyes at the comment, but didn't comment, letting him get everything out.

"And everyone around us was either in love, engaged, or celebrating their hundredth wedding anniversary, and we were having a good time... and there you go."

"There _you_ go."

"Of course, the next morning we both woke up and realized we'd lost our minds. We tried to ignore it for awhile, you know, went snorkeling."

"Because it is the newlywed activity, I mean Nick and Jessica did it," she muttered, causing him to frown. "Sorry, go on."

"But by the time we hit land, we were separated and now we're getting divorced."

"Okay, well, my jet lag and your love life is making me dizzy," she told him rubbing her temples. "Is there more?"

"Nope, that's it," he told her with a nod.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh.

"Ah," he said waving off her comment, "It's okay."

"Well, look on the bright side. I mean, now that you've been married, it'll silence all those questions." she teased, wanting to make the subject lighter.

"What questions?" He asked confused as he turned to look at her.

"You know, a single man of a certain age who lives alone."

"You're kidding?" He scoffed.

"Hey," she said standing up. "I always defended you. I always said, 'Hey, so what if he is?'" She turned and smiled at him. He shook his head and smiled back as he stood up and started loading the rest of Rory's stuff.

"Thank you for your support," he said with a roll of her eyes, causing her to smile wider.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So I think we might be rooming together," Steph said as she ordered a glass of champagne for herself and a club soda for Rory, knowing she didn't drink.

"And how did you find this out?" Rory asked, thanking the bartender as they walked away with their drinks.

"I have my connections. I'm rooming with a R.G., P.G. and a J.B, R.G., Rory Gilmore. No need for applause, I know I'm a genius," Steph said. They heard a scoff and looked to see Finn, Colin and Tristan in front of them.

"Some beg to differ."

"Shut up, Colin," Steph glared.

"That was very astute of you, Steph," Rory teased, going back to their original conversation.

"Come on, it's better rooming with someone you know than some crazy psycho chick that's going to smother you in your sleep."

Tristan and Rory looked at each other before saying "Paris," causing them to go into a fit of laughter.

"What are they laughing at?" Logan asked Finn as he walked up to the group.

Finn shrugged. "I have no idea."

"All right," Rory said with a nod. "I'll admit that it will be cool if you roomed with me."

"Well duh! I mean, then we could share clothes. I can wear those shoes!"

Rory laughed. "Deal."

"You guys don't even know you're rooming together yet, and you're already making plans," Colin said. "That's unlogical."

"You have to promise that if you wake up early, you'll make the coffee though," Rory told her. "I'm not happy without it."

"Hey, same goes," Steph said causing Finn to roll his eyes.

"Come on, love, let's go find my little sister."

"All right, Steph, we have to set ground rules involving Tristan," she warned before walking off with Finn.

"You seem to be having fun," Finn said, wrapping an arm around her waist. She nodded as she took a sip of club soda.

"Yeah, it's great to actually know people when I come to these things."

"Yeah, Steph is always a good person to know at theses things," he said leading her towards the kitchen. "She always knows where the good booze is."

"I have no doubt about that," Rory laughed. She honestly hated going to society parties, hated never knowing a person and getting sucked into talking to her grandparents' friends and having to repeat what she was going to study twenty times to the same people. But now, she had friends that she could easily find and talk to, spend the entire night with and laugh as if she were having a movie night with her mom.

"What are you thinking about?" Finn asked as they reached the entrance to the kitchen where they heard quiet laughter.

"Just how much fun I'm having with you," she admitted.

He smiled, kissing her softly. "Same here, love." He opened the door to the kitchen where they saw a black haired girl on the phone, the phone cord wrapped around her middle as she bit her lip with a smile, her finger twirling the cord. She closed her eyes and turned around, not noticing Finn or Rory.

"No, I'm spending the summer with my dad and brother. You remember Finn... Yes, the one that ran naked on the beach."

Rory raised an eyebrow in Finn's direction, which made him shrug sheepishly as he went over and pinched his sister's sides, causing her to squeal, turn and lose her balance falling to the floor, bringing the entire phone with her.

"Hey," he said causing the fourteen-year-old to glare at him.

"Nice going, idiot, you cut off my phone call."

"You do realize there's a party going on out there, and that we haven't seen each other in months?"

Shelby rolled her eyes and she sat up and started untangling herself from the phone cord. "And I haven't seen my boyfriend in a week, forgive me for having a life outside of you and dad and mom's world of chiffon." She stood up and eyed the pretty blue eyed girl, standing there with an amused smile on her face. "Who are you?"

"Rude much?" Finn asked as he grabbed Rory's hand bringing her closer. "Shelby, this is Rory Gilmore, my girlfriend."

"Nice, the girl that finally tamed Finn. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Rory smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Finn's talked about you."

"I'm not as annoying as he makes me sound," she said with wide eyes. "I swear."

"I trust you," Rory laughed.

"At least someone in this family does," she said rolling her eyes as she put the phone in its place.

"Come on, Shelb, you're the baby," Finn said hugging her.

"I'm turning fifteen in a month. I think that's gets me a teenager title."

"I think it does, Finn," Rory teased.

"I'll never accept that," Finn said dramatically. "You're the baby, with the virgin ears and you'll never change."

Shelby rolled her eyes. "And they call Mila the drama queen of the family."

Rory rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's dramatics as she sat at the barstool at the counter. "Do you know anywhere that I can get coffee?" She asked, looking at her club soda, hoping that it would turn into a mug of coffee. "I haven't had any since this afternoon, and I'm starting to get withdrawals"

"Your girlfriend is a coffee addict?" Shelby raised an eyebrow at Finn.

Finn scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Does she know you detest the stuff?"

Rory gasped. "What?"

"I thought I'd break it to you gently."

"But..." Rory looked at him wide eyed. "Finn as much as I like you I think I may have to break up with you."

"What?" Shelby and Finn asked with wide eyes.

"You hate coffee, Gilmore girls can't be with coffee haters," she said standing up and about to leave. Finn grabbed her hand, pulling him towards him and wrapping an arm around her waist.

Shelby stuck her tongue out. "If this is the part where you two start necking, I'm out of here. Nice to meet you Rory."

"Nice to meet you too!" Rory said, breaking her facade of shock and sadness, to happy as she waved at Shelby. As the younger Rothschild walked out the door, Rory turned back to Finn, replacing her facade.

"You don't mean that, do you?" Finn asked, afraid she was serious.

Rory smiled kissing him lightly. "Of course not! Just as long as you don't try to get me to drink tea, we're good."

Finn let of a breath of relief. "Good, I thought you were serious."

Rory shrugged. "As much as I hate to say it, not everyone can love coffee as much as me and my mom do."

Finn kissed her and nodded. "Sorry," he shrugged.

She smiled returning the kiss. "One question?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you hate it?"

Finn made a face of disgust as he led her back out to the party. "The stuff is nasty, Rory."

Rory gasped. "You can't be serious?"

"Dead. It has a very bitter taste to it, I can't handle it."

"So does certain types of alcohol, " she said obviously, "But you drink that."

"That's completely different," he told her as they walked back to their friends.

"How so?" Rory asked as they stopped in front of them and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are we really arguing about this?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yes, we are."

"Oh, lovers' spat." Logan muttered eagerly, causing Tristan, Steph and Colin to glare at him.

"Just give me one good reason why it's different."

"Rory," Finn whined.

"I'm serious," she said, "One reason."

"What, did he kiss someone else or something?" Logan whispered.

"Shut up, Logan," Colin muttered, elbowing him in the gut, causing him to grunt and glare.

"Alcohol just happens to taste better going down than coffee. I thought you said you were fine with it?" He asked amused.

Rory huffed. "I am, I just... how can you not like coffee?" She asked still in shock.

The group looked at them in confusion as Finn sighed.

"Are you serious?" Logan asked.

"What?" Rory asked turning away from Finn to look at Logan.

"Is that really what you were arguing about?" He asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Why, wanted it to be something else there, Logan?"

Logan glared at her as he grabbed his drink and left the group.

"What did I do to him to make him hate me?" She asked the group. Finn eyed Colin who was about to open his mouth, but upon seeing Finn's glare he closed it.

"Logan's just getting used to another one of us committing is all," Colin said. "So about your friend Lane..." he began, wanting to take the subject away from a pissy Logan.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Lorelai waved as Luke walked back towards the diner. She looked at his truck that was sitting innocently in the driveway, covered by a blue tarp, so that Rory's stuff wouldn't get wet with the morning dew, ruining her things. Walking back into the house, she turned on the TV to create some noise in the house, while she walked to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

Though she didn't want to, her eyes traveled to Rory's room. Turning on the pot, she walked over and leaned against the doorjamb. Even though Rory hadn't packed all her stuff and she still had clothes, shoes, stuffed animals and books in her room, it was empty.

Her most important clothes were going with her, leaving stuff she rarely wore and her Chilton uniform in her closet. Shoes that hurt her feet and weren't school appropriate were left her as well. Stuffed animals that held bad memories or weren't as important were left behind as was the jewelry she rarely even looked at or the books she rarely read.

Some things she was taking with her were new things that had never even seen the inside of her room, but had gone straight into a cardboard box. New sheets and mattresses, clothes, and school things. Hell, even a new boyfriend and friends.

Hearing the car pull up she left the room and went over to the window in the living room and looked out. She saw Finn getting out and walking to the other side of the door, opening it, helping Rory out of the car and walking her up the steps.

Lorelai backed away and went to sit on the couch. Her little girl was growing up and as much as she hated to admit it, it was time to let her go and live the life she wanted.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, causing him to smirk and wrap his arms around her waist.

"Yale tomorrow," Finn told her causing her to smile excitedly.

"Yeah," she nodded. 'I'm so excited."

"I can tell," he laughed. "Steph and Tristan are too."

"I'll miss you though," she said, both their smiles fading a bit.

"Hey," he said, raising her chin up with his fingers, "Hey, we still have a week."

"I know."

"Look, I promised Shelb I'd hang out with her in the morning, but in the afternoon I'm yours. I'll help you move in, how 'bout it?"

"Finn," Rory said, "I don't want to jeopardize your time with your sister, I know that it's limited."

"Trust me, half way through the morning she'll ditch me and hang out with some friends. She always does. I'll be there in the afternoon, no one is going to stop me, all right?"

Rory nodded. "All right."

He leaned down and kissed her, something that started out sweet and simple ended up passionate, as he nipped her bottom lip, asking for permission to take the kiss deeper. Once air became an issue, they pulled away slowly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He asked kissing her lightly.

Rory nodded. "Yeah." She kissed him again as she pulled away from his grasp and opened the door.

"Bye Finn."

Finn nodded with a smirk ."You know, I really like kissing you."

"Yes, and I like kissing you," she laughed biting her lip.

"Bye Finn!" They heard Lorelai yell from inside.

"That's my cue. Bye, love."

"Bye," she said as she watched him get in his car. He looked up at the porch to see her watching. Putting the car in reverse he drove out of her driveway and out of Stars Hollow, back to Hartford. He pushed the thoughts of Rory to the back of his mind, knowing that his dad was going to ask him about it the minute he got home.

Half an hour later he was pulling into the garage and getting out of the car. He took the kitchen entrance where he saw his sister on the phone again.

"Drop Rory off?" She asked covering the mouthpiece.

"Yeah, she's home."

"We still hanging out tomorrow?"

"Of course, why wouldn't we?"

"Good. But I can only hang out till one 'cause Meredith is going shopping in New Haven and I'm so going."

"Then I can hang out with Rory, so it all works out."

Good, so..." she eyed the phone and he smirked.

"Right, I'll go now."

"Good plan," she said as he turned and left. He went to the living room, where he saw his father usher out the last of the guests.

"Yes, thank you for coming. I will definitely see you at the Jameson's party in two weeks." He heard the door close, then his father sigh as he sat down on the couch next to him, slouching down and loosening his tie.

"I now remember why I wear women's clothes," Roland joked as he turned to his son who smiled. "Did you drop Rory off?"

"Safe and sound," Finn reassured, knowing that if his father had took a liking to someone in his children's life, he instantly became protective of them.

"Did she enjoy the evening?"

"Very much, dad. She's very fond of you."

"Good, good."

Finn smirked. "Dad, just come out and say it."

"Say what?" Roland asked innocently as he took off his coat.

Finn rolled his eyes. "The questions that have been on your mind since you found out about her, then met her."

Roland smiled and nodded. "Oh, those questions."

"Yes, those questions." Finn told him.

"Where'd you meet her?" He asked becoming serious.

"Martha's Vineyard. She was staying with her grandparents and she knew Tristan. They're friends from Chilton."

"Were you your usually self when you met her?"

"Define my usual self?" Finn asked.

"Cocky, somewhat lewd."

"No," Finn laughed. "I threw her a wallowing session, she had just broken up with her boyfriend."

"And you're a rebound?" He asked.

"No, we became friends and kissed a few weeks later, we went out, but she didn't become my girlfriend till last week."

"You wooed her?"

"Something along those lines."

"You like her?"

"A lot," Finn admitted. "I don't think I've ever felt this way about someone."

"You're going away for a year, Finn, how are you going to do that?"

Finn shrugged. "I'll admit that having a girlfriend is a first for me, having a long distance girlfriend is another one, but I can do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. I really don't want to screw this up with her. She's become really important to me, dad. I don't want to do anything to ruin the trust we have or the relationship."

"Good, because I really like this girl. I think she's the only girl you've brought home that's actually teased me about my lifestyle instead of turning away in disgust."

Finn smiled. "I'm glad you liked her, dad."

"Shelby seemed to like her too."

"Now all that's left is mum and Mila."

"Mila will love her," Roland told him. "Mila will absolutely love her. Your mother on the other hand..." he trailed off causing Finn to roll his eyes.

"Mum will have to accept her."

"Rory is a Gilmore. I have no doubt she has a little society mind set in there that will impress your mum, and if not, then I'll talk to her."

Finn laughed. "Yeah, that'll go over well. I can just imagine the conversation now."

Roland laughed. "I'm glad you found her, Finn, very glad. She's good for you, and I think you might just be good for her."

"Thanks, dad."

"Welcome son." They looked around the now quiet house before Roland looked at his son. "I have some black nail polish up in the room."

Finn smirked and nodded. "I'll go get it," he laughed as he got off the couch and ran up the stairs for some quality father son bonding time.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory walked into the house as she watched Finn's car disappear out of view. Closing the door she went to her room.

"How was your night?" Lorelai asked.

"Let me change first, then I'll tell you!" Rory shouted as she went to her room, Ten minutes later she was in Yale sweats that her mom had gotten her, an old tank top, her hair out of the twist, but in a sloppy bun, and her face washed of all the make up. Sitting on the couch next to her mom she smiled. She found herself doing that a lot when thinking about Finn.

"So... how was it?" Lorelai asked excited, turning to face her.

"So fun."

"Wait, fun, a society party, fun? Wow, never thought I'd see the day."

"I hung out with Finn, Colin, Steph and Tristan most of the night."

"No Logan?"

"Logan got pissy and left to find a blonde half way though," she said with a shrug. "But I still had fun."

"How's the dad?" Lorelai asked. Rory hadn't ever really had a chance to meet the parents. With Dean it had been very comfortable; Jess, she had already met Luke and had never met Liz. But now Rory was infatuated with a boy like she had never been before and she had to meet one of the parents as well as a sibling.

"He's very cool. As Finn put it, eccentric."

"How so?" Lorelai asked. "Eccentric in that he wouldn't find me hot, or eccentric like 'run in your underwear in the dead of winter' eccentric."

"Eccentric that he wouldn't find you or any other women hot," Rory laughed.

"He's gay?"

"Very much so, but he's so nice, you have no idea."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Wouldn't want him to be mean, what about the sister?"

"Average teenage girl," Rory said. "She was mostly in the kitchen on the phone all night. But she's really nice. You can tell she and Finn are close."

"So you had fun?"

"Lots, I don't think I've ever had that much fun at a society party, but I don't know, this one was."

"Well, you had Finn."

"Yeah, Finn," she said smiling. "Now enough about my night, what about yours?"

"Well, you're all packed," Lorelai told her, "Just a few last things that we can take care of in the morning, and Luke is married."

"All right... Wait, what?" Rory asked eyes wide.

"Yeah, Luke is married."

"To who?"

"Nicole."

"What!"

"Yeah, he married Nicole on the cruise ship. Apparently it was inevitable."

"Oh my god."

"Wait, there's more."

"She's pregnant?" Rory asked with wide eyes.

"That's what I said, but no, they're getting divorced."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah, Luke really pulled a Ross."

"He just needs to marry two more times." Rory laughed. "So he's married?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said quietly. Rory frowned.

"Are you upset about this?"

"What?"

"I don't know, you seem very bummed that Luke is married."

"I do not."

"You do too," Rory told her. "You like Luke, don't you."

"No," Lorelai responded quickly.

"Right, okay. Well, I'm going to go to sleep, you know, Yale and all."

"Yeah, you do that."

"Night mom," Rory said kissing her cheek as she left.

"Night Rory," Lorelai called back sitting in the quiet living room as she heard the door closed. Was she really upset about Luke being married?

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

**_AN: _**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll be adding a lot of Luke and Lorelai moments, only because those become important later on.

To answer some question, yes, I'm doing scenes from season 4... But they'll have my own little twists... meaning I'm adding Finn to them. I'm not doing all the eppys from season four, just the ones I either liked or think would be fun to change, as well at the ones that will be important to the plot.

Please Review.

Kassandra


	12. He's Her Support

_**Part 12: He's Her Support**_

_Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do_

_I have a perfect puzzle for you_

_Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do_

_If you are wise, you'll li-_

"Hello?" Rory asked lying her head on the pillow again after grabbing her phone off the nightstand.

"Morning, college girl," she heard an accented voice say, causing her to smile.

"Hey you, what are you doing up so early?"

"Shelby wanted us to eat breakfast together before dad went off to work. I snuck off to the kitchen to call you, before my day of shopping started."

"Well, that was sweet of you," Rory said sitting up with a smile and pushing her hair back.

"Shelby is going to New Haven to shop with some friends around one, so I'm dropping her off, and then I'll go to Yale. Do you know your dorm yet?"

"No, but I'll text it to you once I get it."

"All right. She's getting a ride with her friends, so I'm yours all afternoon."

"Oooo," Rory cooed, "Imagine the possibilities."

Finn laughed. "I think you've been hanging around me for too long."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," she laughed.

"Good, I've got to go. Shelby's probably wondering why I'm taking so long. See you later."

"Definitely," she said with a nod.

"Bye love."

"Bye Finn," Rory said hanging up just as her door burst open .

"Who dare wake you up on the first day of Yale?" Lorelai asked as she came into the room holding two mugs of coffee, handing one to Rory.

"Finn, he wanted to say good morning before he spent it with his sister."

"Well, at least he's got the boyfriend thing down."

"Yes, he does," Rory agreed as she drank the coffee.

"Now, you go get in the shower, get dressed and then we'll finish packing and get on our way to Yale." When she saw Rory nod, but not make a move to get up she started pushing. "Well go, go, go!"

Rory nodded, drinking the last of the coffee and putting it on her nightstand and grabbing her towel. "I'm going, I'm going," she laughed as she ran to the bathroom.

Lorelai smiled as the door closed. Her baby was going to college.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory walked out of her room, carrying make up products and glaring at them.

"I've got too much stuff," she muttered as she walked to the living room.

"What?" Her mother called from upstairs.

"Stuff!" Rory said louder as she arranged the things in her make up bag. "And it's your fault! You inculcated into me a tolerance for rampant consumerism!"

"What?!" Lorelai asked, sounding confused.

"When did I become one of those girls with dozens of beauty products, none of which are expendable? It used to be a touch of mascara, dab of Coppertone, zip, bam, boom, out the door," she muttered, zipping up the cosmetics bag.

"I heard copper and boom," Lorelai said from upstairs.

"Never mind!" Rory told her, "And what's going on? We're late!"

"I'm looking for the camera."

"Oh vey, she's looking for the camera," Rory muttered rolling her eyes.

"I heard that!"

"That she hears," she said shaking her head.

"It is my prerogative as your mother to record any event in my daughter's life that I so choose." Lorelai said coming down the stairs." It's in the mother's handbook," she pointed out as she fixed the zoom on the camera.

Rory frowned as they walked towards the kitchen. "Does Luke know you can't drive a stick?"

"I can drive a stick."

"You can stir coffee with a stick, but you can't drive a stick," Rory teased as she went to her room to grab the last bag.

"Okay, I'm am so glad I did not choose to record that particular moment in my daughter's life 'cause that was just ugly," Lorelai said grabbing her purse from the kitchen chair.

"I just want you to get there in one piece," Rory told her.

"You look out for me," Lorelai smiled kissing her cheek.

"Let's hit the road!" Rory said walking back towards the living room, arranging the garbage bag that had her shoes in her arms.

"Oh! wait, wait, wait! This is it! This is the precise moment that I've been looking for! This is my daughter going off to college! This is my shot!"

"Okay, fine," Rory said somewhat surprised by the reaction. Lorelai took the trash bag out of her hands and focused the camera.

"Okay, I'm lining you up, now look candid," she ordered.

"Okay, see, the very definition of candid means that the subject doesn't know the picture's being taken."

"So forget the camera's there," Lorelai said as if talking to a four-year-old.

"I'll try," Rory said placating her mother.

"And smile!"

"Okay, okay," Rory said standing and putting on a small smile on her face. The flash went off, taking the picture. Lorelai pushed the bottoms on the camera to get the picture on the screen and frowned.

"I'm not happy," she said immediately.

"Why?"

"It looks posed," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"All right, how about this?" Rory said standing so her side faced the camera and her hand on her hip, a look of annoyance on her face.

"You know that stick we were talking about before? It looks like it's somewhere else now," Lorelai teased.

"You're having serious Annie Leibovitz delusions here," Rory pointed out.

"But it just looks like you're standing in the house. No one will know you're going to college!"

"Should I hold a sign?" Rory asked annoyed.

"Or you could do the 'going off to college' walk."

"The what?" Rory asked confused.

"The walk. The 'this'," Lorelai told her doing the walk by moving her shoulders one by one forward while her hands went with them.

Rory laughed. "You look like Alfalfa coming to pick up Darla."

"Here, hold some of your stuff," she said picking p the trash bag and handing it back to Rory. "At least it'll look like you're moving or something."

"Okay," Rory said heaving the bag over her shoulder, putting the other hand on her hip.

"Ugh, it looks like you're taking out the trash."

"Okay, that's it, we're going," she told her, putting the bag back down and gathering some of her other stuff.

"All right," Lorelai sighed. "I'll just have to make do with one of the pictures I already took."

"Good." Rory said emitting her more exasperated tone of voice.

"Ooh, I'll put it on the computer and then superimpose an important person standing next to you seeing you off, like Kissinger or Lady Bird Johnson or Pat Summerall or something."

"Pat Summerall?" Rory asked confused.

"You think of somebody better."

"Orson Welles," she said in a 'duh' kind of voice.

"It can't be a dead person."

"Pat Summerall's dead!"

"No, he's not," Lorelai said shaking her head.

"Pat Summerall," Rory told her slowly, "Is dead."

"No, I'm telling you he's not. Lady Bird Johnson is dead."

"No, she's not."

"How much you wanna bet?" Lorelai asked her, knowing for a fact that Lady Bird Johnson was dead.

"Five bucks," Rory told her.

"Let's google him right now!"

"Mom, Yale?" Rory told her pointing towards the door.

"Yeah, Yale can wait for us to google Pat Summerall."

Rory sighed grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the house. "Come on."

"Where are your priorities?" Lorelai teased, knowing she had just won the five bucks.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

After breakfast at Luke's and her mom's inability to drive a stick Rory finally reached the Yale campus. Finding her mom, standing in the only free parking space left, she parallel parked perfectly and got out of the car.

"Nice score!" Rory said walking over to her mom.

"Thank you. Oh, and later I'll, uh, point out the seven or so fellow Yalies who already hate you because your obnoxious mother wouldn't let them park in the only open spot left," Lorelai told her with a smile.

"Oh goody," Rory rolled her eyes. She looked over at Luke's truck that was parked in front of her Prius. "You get the truck here okay?"

Lorelai glared at the truck before turning back to Rory. "We had some bickering, but we made it."

"Right," Rory muttered tucking her hair behind her ears. A girl came up to them, wearing a Yale sweatshirt and smiled.

"Hello. Name?"

"Oh, hey," Lorelai said. "I was told it was okay to hold the spot. A guy told me, I forgot his name. He had, uh, like, a jacket."

"It's okay. I was just wondering what our newcomer's name is."

"Rory Gilmore," Rory answered, shaking her head at her mother's antics.

"Right, Rory Gilmore," Lorelai repeated.

"Rory Gilmore, Rory Gilmore... Oh, there you are. Welcome to Yale," the girl said shaking Rory's hand.

"Oh! Hold the shake, hold the shake!" Lorelai said fumbling with her camera.

"Mom," Rory sighed.

"Wait, lens cap, lens cap," Lorelai said, hurriedly taking off the cap.

"Sorry," she told the girl who just smiled.

"They all do this, don't worry about it."

"Shake," she told them. She took the picture and smiled. "Got it. Who are you?"

"I'm Tess, I'm Rory's freshman counselor. I'll be living in the building and be there for whatever she needs."

"And you look twenty-one, convenient for beer runs," she smirked at Rory who smiled.

"I'll be giving a tour for Durfee girls you should not miss."

"Oh, I know," Rory told her. "Tour's at twelve, followed by the optional express lunch twelve to two, which is all followed by the telecommunications orientation and internet ID distribution, parents' reception eleven to one," Rory recited.

"You memorized the schedule," Tess stated surprised.

"Yeah, she's not weird or anything, she just has a good memory," Lorelai said with a proud tone in her voice.

"And I see you brought your own mattress," Tess said pointing to the mattress lying in the bed of the truck.

"Oh, right," Lorelai said snapping her fingers. "See, the guy... name, name, name. I forgot his name. Three syllables. Uh, he said it was okay, and he had, like, a mustache."

Tess smiled and raised an eyebrow. "It's allowed as long as you make arrangements to dispose of the one that was already there. Did you do that?"

"Yes, we did," Lorelai said immediately.

"Yes," Rory nodded.

"Good. Get your camera ready," Tess told Lorelai.

"Why?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm giving Rory her key," Tess said holding the keys over Rory's palm.

"Thanks for the warning," Lorelai said in relief as she took the picture of Tess and Rory and the keys.

"See you at the tour," Tess told Rory as she started to walk away.

"Yes, Tess, thank you." Rory smiled. She turned to her mom. "So, she's nice."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded. "I'm dying to see your room. Come on, grab a bag."

Rory started grabbing garbage bags from the bed of the truck and turned to her mother. "So, you made arrangements to get rid of the old mattress?"

"Yes, I did," Lorelai said heaving a bag over he shoulder.

"Really?" Rory asked with a raised eyebrow as they walked towards the room where she would be spending the next year. "Because it specifically says here that you're supposed to make arrangements to have the old mattress picked up before arrival," Rory read off the sheet she had in her hand.

They stepped into the Durfee hall and Lorelai nodded. "Ooh, very grand."

"So, what time are the mattress guys coming?" Rory asked.

"Uh, later today sometime," Lorelai told her as they walked to the door.

"So we have to wait for them, or..."

"I think they just let themselves in. Here we are," Lorelai said stepping in front of the dorm door.

"So do the mattress guys have their own key?"

"All right, I confess," Lorelai sighed dropping the bag. "I didn't call the mattress guys."

Rory smiled triumphantly. "Well, what are we gonna do?"

"We'll find a dumpster," Lorelai shrugged as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Mom! They could trace it back to me!"

"I'll be long gone by then," Lorelai teased.

"Mom!" Rory warned.

"All right, we'll burn it before we dump it. A match, a little gasoline."

"We're here five minutes and we're already contemplating felonies," Rory muttered as Lorelai unlocked the dorm room and walked in.

"Just like I pictured it," Lorelai said as she looked at the empty space. To the right were two doors, each one with a Post-it with initials on it, while the one in front of them had two. The common room held an old green couch and a worn coffee table, just like a dorm room should have in Lorelai's opinion.

"Did you see an emergency exit?"

Lorelai turned and her eyes brightened when she saw the fireplace. "A fireplace too! I wonder if it's woodburning."

"It says here, 'Upon arrival, please take note of the emergency exits," Rory said looking down at the booklet in her hands.

"Hey, hey, we could burn the mattress in there, save us a trip,"

Lorelai teased.

"Aw, man, a piece of my map ripped off," Rory muttered with a frown.

"Which one's your room?"

"I'm missing half of the Old Campus."

"R.G. This is it," Lorelai said pointing to the door with two Post-its.

"If I have Old Campus activities today, I'm screwed," Rory said as she absently followed her mother into the room.

"Here it is. Here's where you're going to be thinking all those impressive thoughts. It's just waiting for your decorative stamp. And a little air freshener."

"Where's the phone jack?" Rory asked, looking at the walls.

"I don't know, Jack. Where is the pesky phone?"

"Mom," Rory warned as she looked through the booklet, to see where she could get another map.

"You're one-note Nancy today."

"Ah, here's a place to get replacement maps," Rory read the paragraph and groaned. "Aw, holy cow, it's in the Old Campus!"

"All right, that's it," Lorelai said pushing her out of the room.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"You just missed it," Lorelai said as she pushed Rory out of the common room.

"Missed what?"

"Walking into your dorm suite for the first time. Do over," Lorelai said as they walked back outside and closed the door.

"What? We're short on time here, and we haven't gotten half of my stuff out of the truck," Rory protested.

"It doesn't matter," Lorelai said waving the comment away. "You're gonna be in the moment."

"Mom," Rory sighed.

"You're gonna be in the moment or..." she took the map away from Rory. "The rest of the map gets it."

"No, "Rory surrendered. "Okay, I'm here, I swear."

"You're not placating me?" Lorelai asked.

"I'll try. Really, I'm all here."

"Good," Lorelai nodded happy she'd gotten her way. They turned and looked at her dorm door. "Oh, here's your suite."

"Which reminds me I have to text Finn the number."

"Mention of the boyfriend, now I know you're here." Lorelai said as they opened the door and walked inside.

"Wow," Rory muttered looking around.

"Huh?" Lorelai said with a 'I-told-you-so' tone.

"It is cool. My own space."

"Well, yours and S.M's, P.G's and J.B's," Lorelai pointed out.

"And a fireplace, did you see the fireplace?" Rory pointed out, wondering if it was wood burning or electrical.

"Was this do over justified or what?" Lorelai said as she led Rory into her room.

Rory looked around, noticing the two empty bed frames and the two desks with shelves above them. "You mentioned thoughts in here."

"Mhm, all the great ones you're going to have."

"And an air freshener?" Rory asked looking at the shelves and thinking about the colleges books that would soon be filling them.

"That too."

Rory smiled at her mom and hugged her. "Thanks for putting me in the moment."

"My pleasure." Lorelai said pulling away from her daughter.

"I would not have wanted to miss this."

"Good, and thank you."

"For what?" Rory asked confused. Not sure she did anything in the past few minutes to deserve a thank you.

"For pretending that at this very moment you're thinking about missing your tour, finding a phone jack or navigating your way through the Old Campus."

"It's my gift to you," Rory laughed.

"Let's go unload and get your new map."

"Oh, bless you," Rory said grabbing the old map from her mom's hands and walking out. Lorelai smiled and did a turn in the room. Her daughter would be just fine here.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory walked back to her dorm with a slight smile as she opened the door and walked in, stopping when she saw the furniture scattered around the dorm.

"Whoa," she muttered as she looked around. A nice couch was sitting in the place of the old couch that had been there. A bunch of overflowing boxes covered the hardwood floor. Rory sighed. Looks like one of her roommates was here. She started walking towards the room, when she saw a Post-it on the floor. Picking it up she noticed the initials P.G. on it.

With a frown Rory looked and saw that one door was free of a Post-it. Putting it in it's place she went to her room, only to stop when she noticed even more boxes in her room, and clothes scattered on both beds.

"Ror- Oh my god!"

"Mom?"

"What hurricane blew through here?" Lorelai asked as she met Rory in her dorm room.

"Looks like one of my roommates," Rory stated.

"You know who it is?" Lorelai stated looking at Rory as she picked up a shirt.

"I have a pretty good idea."

"Do you know how vulnerable you are to venereal diseases?" Lorelai asked.

Rory looked over at her confused. "All hail the queen of the non-sequiturs."

Lorelai shook her head. "This parent orientation I went to was a nonstop litany of the horrors awaiting college freshmen. You're supposed to carry a whistle, a flashlight, a crucifix and a loaded Glock with you at all times," Lorelai warned her.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rory laughed as they walked back out to the common room.

"Don't shake any of your new roommates hands. Bacteria."

"Mom," Rory laughed.

"Or tell them where you live."

"Oops, too late. I already handed out my business cards to all the stalker weirdoes," Rory teased.

"Oh! You touched the doorknob."

"And it looks like a missed one. I think I have an extra card in my book bag," Rory said with a roll of her eyes as they walked out of the room and stood outside in the hall.

"So this is it," Lorelai said.

"This is it."

"You'll be fine?" Lorelai asked worriedly.

Rory nodded. "I'll be great. Right now I'm going to go wonder around campus, get a few STD's and flunk out."

"And all on your first day. You sure do know how to make a mom proud."

"I'll be fine, mom," Rory reassured. "I really am going to go look around and come back, maybe see if my roommates came back."

Lorelai sighed. "All right, but just know nothing is stopping you from paging me to come back, you know. If you find that you're missing something or..."

"I'll be fine," Rory repeated. "And I know."

"You'll visit?"

"Every weekend."

"And you'll call?"

"Every minute, that you'll get sick of me."

"I better see high cell phone bills, missy."

"The highest," Rory said as she and her mother hugged. "Now go get Luke his truck back before he takes away your coffee."

"All right, I'm going. Love you."

"Love you too," Rory said hugging her once more. She watched as her mother started walking away, turned back, waved, then walked the rest of the way out of Yale. Rory bit her lip happily, as she made sure her key to the dorm was in her pocket, and started wondering around the campus.

Though Yale hadn't been the first choice in colleges, she was glad she'd made it, past the three years of Chilton and the ups and downs of her and Paris's relationships along with the ups and downs of her own personal relationships.

She was glad that though she was over the stress of high school and teenage life in general, that she was able to get back and in her own weird way enjoy a new kind of stress of college life, college finals, and now her own college romance.

She smiled giddily at the thought of Finn, and the luck that she had had in finding him, the perfect start of their relationship, and the new friends that she had gained. This was a new beginning for her, and she loved that she really had no clue what was going to happen in the future.

She was too giddy to even think about what would happen when Finn left for Fiji. She was too happy to even start thinking about the classes she would need to start taking soon, and she was way too ecstatic to even think about all the garbage bags and boxes she had to go through before she was even close to being unpacked.

Looking over she saw the campus pub where she knew Steph and Tristan would likely drag her, when she got into her studying mode, and oddly, she felt a sense of relief that she had friends that she could hang with.

Turning she walked back towards the dorm. It was time for reality, sadly, and she did have things to unpack. Crossing her arms over her chest to keep out the cold, she walked back to her dorm, looking over at the gates, hoping to see the old truck that belonged to Luke, but there was nothing.

Biting her lip once again, she dug out her key and put it in the lock, opening the door, only to find more boxes scattered around the common room. Leaving the door open she walked over to her room and sat on her bed.

She sort of wished that she had made her mom keep her company until her roommates arrived. Pulling out her pager on instinct, she started typing her mother a SOS message, when she heard a groan come from the common room. With a frown she dropped her pager on the bed and walked out, not noticing that her pager hit the bed sending the message out.

"Lift with your legs!" She heard a distinct female voice say in annoyance.

"Hey! You wanna lift this?" Rory smiled at the voice.

"No, now stop complaining." The blonde came into view and squealed when she saw Rory. "RORY!"

"Steph!" Rory squealed back, hugging the blonde. "I'm going to assume that all these boxes are yours?"

"You assume right!" Steph laughed. "Sorry I made a mess. I just ran out of room in the bedroom, then with your stuff... well, we just started piling it here."

"Not that this reunion isn't heartfelt," they heard from the doorway. They turned and saw Tristan holding something. He nodded at Rory, "Hey Mar."

"Hey Tris... What is that?"

"Steph's TV," Tristan replied. "Now can you guys move out of the way so we can get the blasted thing in?"

Steph rolled her eyes and she and Rory moved. Tristan started backing into the room, the flat screen TV moving with him, revealing another person holding up the other end. Rory smiled and went over to him.

"Hi Finn."

He smiled back as he stopped walking. "Hello love." They kissed briefly, causing Tristan to growl in annoyance.

"Carrying heavy TV here, you can reunite in a minute."

Finn pulled back. "I'll be right back."

"Holding you to that," Rory laughed as Finn started walking into their room.

"Dammit, Steph!" Tristan cursed.

"Yeah, there's really nowhere to put it, is there?" Steph asked herself as Finn and Tristan backed the TV out and dropped it near the fireplace with a thud. Finn grabbed it quickly before it fell, seeing as it was a TV that was better hung up than sitting and the base was unstable, while Tristan glared at his girlfriend.

"You're about this close to being single," Tristan threatened, putting his thumb and forefinger very close together to prove his point.

Steph raised an eyebrow. "Cool. You know, there's a guy down the hall with a really nice ass. Maybe if I left now I could catch up with him." Tristan glared at her while Steph smiled innocently. "You love me, Tris, you can't break up with me." She turned to Rory. "Now about the closet."

"I'm guessing we don't have enough space."

"You're guessing right."

Finn wrapped his arms around Rory's waist, resting his chin against the top of her head. "Why don't you get those plastic drawer shelve things that fit in closets,"

"Shoot," Rory muttered. "I forgot hangers."

Steph winced. "So did I."

"How about me and Rory go to the store and get the things you girls need while Steph tries to somewhat organize some things, and Tristan unpacks his own things," Finn suggested.

"You just want to make out with your girlfriend," Tristan muttered.

Finn smirked kissing the top of Rory's head. "And there's that."

Tristan sighed. "Fine, let's go get my stuff out of the truck then."

Finn kissed Rory before following Tristan out. The girls watched them walk out, down the hall towards the truck.

"We have such good boyfriends," Steph said.

"The very best," Rory smiled.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Lorelai parked the truck in front of Luke's and got out glaring at the truck. "You are the stupidest truck known to man!" She yelled at it. "See if I ever drive you again!"

"Are you yelling at my truck?"

Lorelai turned to see Luke looking at her with an amused smile. "You truck sucks! It kept stopping in the middle of the road whenever I tried to shift."

"'Cause you don't know how to drive a stick."

"I know how to drive a stick," Lorelai argued.

"You know how to stir a stick, not drive one."

"That one's already been used, get a new catchphrase," Lorelai muttered as she followed Luke to the diner. She stopped midway as her pager beeped.

"What's that?" Luke asked as Lorelai pulled out her pager.

"My pager," she muttered looking at the message. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Come back."

"I'm right here," Luke said annoyed.

"No," she said sending him a glance before looking back at her pager. "It's from Rory, it says 'come back' with about a dozen exclamation points." Lorelai started back towards the truck, Luke following her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking your truck back to Yale."

"No way," Luke said. "You just said you were never going to drive my truck again which I gotta say sounds good right about now."

"I gotta go back," Lorelai fought.

"Take your own car, remember that concept?"

"No, it'll take too long to walk to the house to get it, plus it's out of gas, plus it's been making weird noises and probably can't take a long trip. Please, Luke?"

"I need my truck," Luke said, knowing that he would give it to her anyway.

"I need it more."

"You've had it all day," Luke pointed out.

"Don't you care about Rory?" Lorelai asked pulling out the trump card.

"You know I care about Rory!" Luke glared, then sighed. "Have it back by seven."

"Thank you, Luke," she said kissing his cheek. She got in the car sticking the key in the ignition and pulling the stick in a direction. The car lurched back, causing Lorelai to yelp and put her foot on the brake.

"That's reverse," Luke told her from the window.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious," Lorelai muttered as she put the car in the right gear and drove off.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Maybe we… should… get… out… of the… car," Rory got out as Finn kissed her between each word.

Finn smirked. "It amazes me that you can still think about shopping at a time like this."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "The way I see it is the sooner we get the stuff, the sooner we can uncover the bed and the sooner Steph can go to Tristan's room and leave us the room."

"Now I understand how you got into Yale. My girlfriend is so smart," Finn muttered kissing her again before getting out of the car.

Rory rolled her eyes as Finn came around and opened her door. He helped her out, locked the doors and pocketed the keys. He pulled her to his side, causing her to wrap an arm around his waist as his arm dropped onto her shoulders.

They walked into the Hartford mall, getting a breeze of cool air that was better than the lingering heat of the summer outside.

"Okay, so where's the list?" Finn asked.

"What list?" Rory asked innocently.

"Love, when I left to help Tristan, you only needed the drawers and the hangers. I don't doubt that in the hour that I was gone you and Steph found out you needed more than that. Now where's the list?"

Rory sighed as she pulled the list out of her back pocket and unfolded it. "We need drawers, hangers, trashcans, along with light bulbs. We also need a mini fridge."

"Mini fridge?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow. "You need one?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Don't need, but want."

Finn smiled. "Then for all that we go to Bed, Bath and Beyond."

"Then let's go."

They got on the escalator, their fingers interlaced. Stepping off they headed towards the store, just as Finn's phone rang. Never letting go of her hand he dug out his phone and answered it.

"Rothschild." He frowned. "Hey Colin… no… I'm at the mall… No, with Rory… Just need to get some things. Why?"

Rory watched as Finn stopped and nodded into his phone. He let go of her hand to pat his pockets. "Just a minute." He looked at her. "Do you have paper and pen?"

Rory nodded pulling out a old receipt and a pen, and handed them over to Finn.

"Thanks," he said as he leaned down to write on his leg. "All right." He started writing nodding at each word. "Anything else?" He wrote something else down and handed the pen back over to Rory. "All right, I might be able to get them. All right, bye." He hung up and took her hand again, stuffing the phone and the list in his pocket.

"What was that about?" Rory asked.

"Colin wanted to know where I was so I could grab some last minute things for the trip."

"Like?"

"Rope and some boating supplies, first aid kits."

"Kits?" Rory asked. "As in plural?"

Finn smiled shyly as they walked into Bed, Bath and Beyond. She grabbed a cart and they started walking around the store.

"We've been known to do pretty stupid things when in the middle of nowhere."

"Like?" Rory asked nudging his hip with hers.

Finn shrugged. "We all get bored easily, especially if we're going to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no sign of land soon..."

"So you..."

"We jumped off the side of the boat once. We thought we were deeper... we weren't."

"Oh Finn," Rory cooed.

He ran a hand through hair, smiling at the memory. "I cracked the back of my head hitting the reef. When we got back on the boat we had one first aid kit and it didn't stop the blood. Long story short, by the time we met our parents they were pissed that we stained the boat. And my dad almost cracked me head again when he found out how stupid we'd been."

"When was this?" Rory asked with a frown as they reached the bedroom and office supplies.

Finn furrowed his brow. "Two summers ago," he said. "Or three. Logan and Colin came with me to visit my mum, and their parents came for a vacation. We convinced them to let us take the yacht out for a few weeks."

"And now they're letting you do it again?"

Fin laughed. "You're not the only one who can pull out the puppy dog eyes, love" He looked around. "Okay, now the drawers."

Rory smiled as she leaned on the cart and followed Finn.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Lorelai rushed to her daughter's dorm room. She wondered what had made her homesick and just what to do to help her daughter forget.

She reached her daughter's room and opened the door, only to see two blondes standing in the middle of the room glaring at each other.

"She said to organize things, Steph!"

"I can't organize my clothes unless I have hangers and guess what, Tristan, I DON'T HAVE HANGERS!"

"I'm sorry," Lorelai interrupted, causing them to turn.

"Lorelai, hi," Steph smiled.

"Hi Stephanie, Tristan."

"Lorelai," Tristan said crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, but Rory's not here," Steph said ignoring him. "I can tell her you stopped by."

"What do you mean she's not here?" Lorelai asked.

Tristan frowned. "She left with Finn."

"What?!"

Steph nodded. "Yeah, we don't have enough closet space, or hangers, or a trashcans, or light bulbs and about a hundred other things that we should have, but don't."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "They went to the Hartford mall to get them. They should be back soon. They left about an hour ago."

Steph shook her head. "Come on, Tris, you know about half that hour was spent making out."

"True, so give them another two hours."

Lorelai sighed. "I guess I came over for nothing."

"What do you mean?" Steph asked.

"Rory sent me a message, I guess it was before you guys got here."

"Why don't you call her?" Tristan asked.

"Good idea," Lorelai said pulling out her phone and dialing Rory's number.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory looked at the clocks that were sitting in front of her, deciding which was best, when her cell phone rang. Taking it out of her pocket she answered.

"CD or voice recording?"

"Voice recording." The voice on the other end answered.

"Mom?"

"Hey sweets."

"What's wrong? Oh, god, did you crash into something when using Luke's truck?"

"No!" Lorelai said quickly. "I may have skimmed a fire hydrant, but nothing major."

"Skimmed can have so many meanings."

"So not the reason I called," Lorelai pouted.

Rory sighed as she grabbed the voice recording alarm clock and put it in the basket. She turned around and saw Finn holding up two different first aid kits for her approval. "So why did you call?" She asked taking the biggest one and looking at it to see what it contained.

"You sent me a message, babe."

"I did?" Rory asked confused, taking the smaller kit and looking at that.

"Come back"

"I didn't send it."

"It came from your number," Lorelai accused.

"I mean I wrote it, but I didn't send it. Tristan, Steph and Finn came into the room, I dropped my pager on the bed… and oh."

"Oh?" Lorelai asked. "Oh!"

She turned to Finn. "Take the bigger one, it has colored bandages. That way if you crack your head open again, you're walking around Fiji with a pink bandage."

Finn laughed as he put the smaller one back and grabbed five more of the big first aid kits.

"I mean 'oh' as in when I dropped my pager it must have sent it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to go all the way back there, for me not even to be there."

"Why were you going to send it?"

Rory shrugged as she and Finn walked over to where they had mini fridges. "I don't know, I was sitting in the dorm, I was alone, it was…" she shrugged. "I felt homesick all of the sudden. I though you were still close and that maybe you could turn back and keep me company."

"Until your friends got there."

"No, I just…" Rory shrugged again. "I don't know."

"But now you're fine."

"The red one," she said to Finn as he stared at the little modern fridges.

"Why red?" He asked taking it off the shelf.

"'Cause it's cute, and it's bright, so me and Steph can find it at three in the morning."

Finn rolled his eyes as he put it in the cart.

"I'm more than fine, I was just overreacting I guess."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"All right, then I guess I'll get going."

"Stay, mom, I feel bad about you having to drive from Stars Hollow to New Haven again. Stay, we'll order pizza and you can watch Steph and Tristan argue, it's great fun."

"Thanks for the offer, sweets, but I think I'm going to go. I should probably return Luke's truck once and for all."

"You sure?" Rory asked worriedly.

"Positive, spend time with your boyfriend and friends, I'll see you later."

"All right."

"Love you, kid."

"Love you too, mom." She heard the phone click off. Rory hung up her phone to see Finn watching her.

"Everything okay?"

"Yep, it's a long story." She looked into their full cart and looked up at her boyfriend. "Do we have everything."

"Looks like, I still need a few things from my list. But other than that, we're good."

"Great, then we can stop at the arts and crafts store," Rory said as they walked towards the checkout.

"Why?"

"So that Steph and me can decorate the drawers we got," she said as they stood in line near the candy.

"Of course," Finn said as he grabbed a few bars of chocolate and some gummy worms. They moved up in line and Rory started putting things on the counter, keeping a mental count of the items, hoping it was all within her limit.

Finn threw the candy bars on to the counter along with everything else.

"Hey, I was counting," Rory said.

"And I'm paying," Finn said as he moved in front of her.

"No, you're not," she argued as the cashier started charging things.

"Yes, I am, love."

"But most of it is mine."

"Yes, but you're my girlfriend."

Rory frowned at the logic. "Where does that come into play?"

"I buy things for you."

"Yeah, pretty things," Rory said not feeling comfortable with him paying for the things she and Steph needed.

"Once you decorate everything, they will be pretty."

Knowing that there was no point in arguing Rory sighed and nodded. "Fine, but I buy my own glitter paint."

He kissed the top of her head. "That's perfect, love." He pulled out his wallet, looked up at the total and pulled out his credit card handing it to the cashier. He didn't miss the sigh that escaped Rory's lips as he paid.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey, what are you doing back?" Luke asked as Lorelai sat a the counter dropping the truck keys into his hand.

"I came for coffee," Lorelai told him.

"They don't have coffee in New Haven?"

"Yeah."

"Then why aren't you getting coffee in New Haven?"

"What is it with everyone today!" Lorelai said loudly. "Does no one want me around anymore?!"

Luke looked at her surprised. "Lorelai, that's not what I-"

"'Cause I know I'm annoying and I know that I can be a bit protective, but come on, people! That's no reason to push me away."

"Cesar, I'm taking a break!" Luke shouted towards the back as he went around the counter. He took Lorelai by the arm and dragged her upstairs to the apartment, with her muttering the whole way. He opened the door and shoved her in.

"All right, talk," Luke ordered as he motioned for her to sit at the table.

"Talk about what?" Lorelai asked as she slumped down.

"Talk about what's bugging you."

"Can you make coffee?"

"I don't keep coffee up here, but if you talk, I'll give you a free cup downstairs."

"Fine," Lorelai said.

"So what happened? I expected you back tomorrow, not two hours later. Did you even go down there?"

"I did," Lorelai sighed. "I went down and found two blondes in place of my daughter."

"What?" Luke asked.

"I went to Rory's room and found Stephanie and Tristan, they're Rory's friends," Lorelai explained after noticing Luke's confused face. "She met them down in Martha's Vineyard. Well, actually she knew Tristan at Chilton."

"The one that bugged her?" Luke said remembering some of the morning conversations he would have with Rory before going to school.

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, they became friends and Stephanie is his girlfriend."

"All right."

"When I walked in, they told me Rory wasn't there and asked what I was doing there politely, seeing as society wouldn't expect anything less. I told them that Rory sent me the message and they said that she and Finn went to Hartford to buy some things."

"Things?" Luke asked.

"Drawers, light bulbs, trashcans and fridge. That's about all that I heard."

"So what happened?"

"I called her and asked her what happened. She said that she felt weird and lonely when I left, since no one else was there and that when she was writing that, Finn, Tristan and Steph came in. The message was sent accidentally."

"All right." Luke said with a frown, not getting why Lorelai was upset.

"All while she was explaining this to me, she was having a side conversation with Finn."

"He is her boyfriend, Lorelai."

"I _know_ that!" She said "I just…" she looked down at the table fiddling with the pencil that had been there.

Luke smiled getting the point. "You have not been replaced."

Lorelai looked up startled. "What?"

"Rory hasn't replaced you."

"But how-"

"I know," Luke said.

"But how?"

"Come on, Lorelai, you and Rory both know that there are things that only you two can do together."

"Like?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's annoying the hell out of me."

"That's a fun one."

"There's mocking movies to the degree that you do. That insipid '1, 2, he's yours' game you do."

"That's right," Lorelai said smiling.

"And there's a bunch of other stuff that only mother and daughter like you two can do."

"But she's…"

"She's sharing a room with three other girls, she's has a boyfriend, she's going to college. Of course you're not going to be all she's focused on. But you're still a huge part."

Lorelai shook her head. "Yeah, I know. But there's still that little voice in the back of my head that whenever something is bad now, she has a bad day, gets a bad grade, falls and trips in the mud... There's that voice that says that she's going to call Finn in Fiji and not me, and I'm only two hours away. He's… He's half way across the world!"

"She's still going to call you."

"She's not," Lorelai protested.

"She may not call you first, but she's still going to call you. You're not going to be out of her life ever, Lorelai. No one can replace their mom."

"You didn't?"

"Had no one to replace her with," Luke pointed out. "But I wouldn't have if I did."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "All right."

Luke nodded. "All right, why don't you stay up here a while, I'll go get you some coffee, maybe a burger."

"Lots of fries, I've had a hard day."

Luke nodded. "Yeah." He smiled, patted her hand softly and headed down the stairs, leaving Lorelai to think.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Do you want to separate the clothes or mix?" Steph asked hoping for mixing as she saw a cute sweater on Rory's bed.

"I don't care," Rory responded, not caring either which way.

"Then we're mixing, the clothes are already jumbled up," Steph pointed out hanging up one of Rory's dresses and putting it next to one of her pair of jeans, starting the mixing process. "And I hope you know that you can borrow anything of mine, just like I hope you…"

"You can wear the sweater, Steph," Rory laughed as she stood up with a pile of folded shirts and put them away in the plastic drawers that were now in the closet. She and Finn had bought four of them, two for each of the girls. Rory had thought they were too many, but seeing the amount of clothes and the way Steph brought out the girly girl in her, she knew that if she didn't fill them up now, she was going to soon.

"Oh, thank you!" Steph said grabbing the sweater, putting it up to herself and looking in the mirror they had put at one corner of the room "'Cause I have a really cute outfit that goes with this."

"Well, that's good we ended up in a room together now, isn't it?" Rory said.

Steph grinned. "I didn't do anything."

"I noticed the Post-it on the ground when I came back."

Steph shrugged "Must have fallen off the door."

"Yeah, right," Rory laughed.

"Love?"

Rory looked over her shoulder as Finn walked into the room. "Yeah?"

"I think another one of your roommates just arrived." Finn said.

"Really?"

Finn nodded. "The funny thing is that she has the same name as that girl you and Tristan are always talking about."

"What girl?" Rory asked.

"Um…" Finn thought of the name. "The one you knew in high school."

"I'm sure we can move things around. I mean it's a common room, it's what you're supposed to do." Rory heard a voice from outside, causing her to walk out.

"Let it go," a male voice said.

"Paris?" Rory asked as she spotted her in the common room.

"That's the one," Finn said as Steph looked Paris over.

"How shocked are you?" Paris asked happily.

"Do you have a resuscitator?" Rory muttered staring at her.

"I'm going to Yale!"

"You… You're going to Yale?" Rory choked out, not quite believing it.

"And we're suitemates!"

"Of all the gin joints…" Rory said.

"Give me a hug," Paris said stepping forward, then stopping. "Wait!" She looked over at the man behind who gave a nod. Paris turned and smiled. "Give me a hug."

Rory hugged her briefly in shock before pulling back. "This is a massively big surprise."

"I was going to call and then I thought, 'Hey, let's wait and just be right in her face.'"

"I can't even feel my face anymore." Rory said poking her cheek. Yep, there was absolutely no feeling in her face.

"This is a good thing," Paris pointed out.

"No, yes, it's definitely a good thing. It's just _again_, my nose." Rory moved her nose. "It feels like clay." She looked over at Finn. "Does it look like clay, 'cause it feels like it."

"Same nose," Finn reassure kissing the tip of it.

"Oh," Paris said witnessing the exchange. "Uh, this is Terrence."

Rory turned and nodded at the man. "Hello."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Rory," Terrence said shaking her hand.

"Finally?" Rory asked.

"Terrence is my life coach."

"Your what?"

"Don't judge," Paris told her.

"I'm not!" Rory protested.

"Remember my nanny?" Paris asked. Before Rory could respond she kept going. "Well, I lost her over the summer."

"Oh, wow, I'm so sorry, Paris. What happened?"

"She opened a pupuseria in Boise."

"So she's okay?" Rory asked in relief.

"Yeah, but I was pretty lost. Then my rabbi conferred with my therapist who said a hypnotist he knew thought a life coach would be right for me. And that led to Terrence. He's here to assist me in whatever I need assistance in, from wardrobe, to diet to finding me a kick-ass gynecologist."

"Wow," Rory said in surprise.

"And he's done so much for my people skills. I can cope with the little annoyances now. Like," she turned to Steph who was smirking at her. "The old Paris would have been annoyed with your staring and smirking at her the entire times she's been talking to the point that she would have wanted to wring your blonde little neck until your eyeballs popped out."

"Oh!" Steph said taking a step back.

"But now, I accept it, because I can't control everything. Paris Geller," she introduced herself.

"This is our roommate Stephanie," Rory introduced. "And my boyfriend Finn," Rory said taking his hand.

"I can't wait to see his face." Steph muttered.

"Whose face?" Paris asked.

"You'll see," Steph smirked as she walked to the door. "I'll be back." She walked out laughing.

Paris frowned at her before turning to Rory. "So how'd you meet this loser?"

Rory opened her mouth to defend Finn, but Terrence cut her off.

"Paris, you don't have the right to judge others. Take a step back and reevaluate."

"Sorry," she said to Finn. "How did you two meet? Last time I remember you were in your bad boy phase."

Rory winced. "Me and Jess broke up a few weeks before graduation," Rory told her. "I meet Finn through Steph's' boyfriend."

"Who's Steph's boyfriend."

The door opened and Steph walked back in.

"Steph, I wasn't done unpacking and I really do want to meet my roommates you know. And if this is to stomp on a spider I swear to god we're breaking up."

"There," Steph said pointing at Pairs.

"What?" He looked up and his eyes widened.

"That face," Steph laughed slapping her hands happily.

"Tristan!" Paris said going over to him and hugging him. He awkwardly hugged her back and looked over at Rory, who shrugged.

"Hey Paris," Tristan said pulling back and standing behind Steph. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, too long. This is Terrence, he's my life coach."

"Nice to meet you finally," Terrence said shaking Tristan's hand.

"Finally?" He asked with a frown.

"You and I have a bit of a journey left to finish as well." Paris pointed out.

"Do we?" Tristan asked surprised. "I thought that verbal lashing you gave me a few years ago was the end of it."

"You ruined the play!" She yelled causing Tristan to step back.

"Paris," Terrence said putting a hand on her shoulder

"Come on, Terrence."

"Two steps forward, three steps back," Terence said in a soothing voice.

"But he was baiting me."

"Fish can choose not to bite."

Paris took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sorry for the things that I said," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm hoping that we can get past that and work out our differences"

"Good girl. Tristan, how do you reply?"

"Uh…" He looked over at Rory for help, but she shrugged helplessly. "Sure," he said slowly.

"Excellent," Terrence said clapping his hands together.

"So, you're Steph and Rory's roommate?" Tristan said. "That's a weird how it worked out, you rooming with my girlfriend and friend and with me just living upstairs and all."

"Not really," Paris said. "When I told Terrence all about our history, meaning yours, Rory's and mine, he felt very strongly that our life journey was not complete."

"Hear that, Tristan, your life journey with Paris isn't complete," Steph said tongue in cheek.

"So my dad made a call and here we are." Paris shrugged.

"Here we are," Tristan sighed.

"Is that my room?" Paris asked gesturing behind them.

"If your initials are P.G., it is," Rory said. Paris walked to the room as Tristan and Rory glared at Terrence. He smiled happily as they walked into the other room. Tristan closed the door as Rory sat on the bed. Finn sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her as she leaned back in to him. Steph leaned against the desk next to Tristan.

"I would just like to point out that this is Tristan's fault." Rory said.

"What?" Tristan asked. "How the hell is this my fault?"

"You jinxed it."

"What?"

"All summer you're been talking about how funny it would be if Paris just showed up at Yale. You even made comments about rooming with us and now… now look what you did!"

"Yeah, Mar, 'cause I just have these voodoo powers."

"With all your teasing you sent out telepathic messages to her that gave her ideas and look where it got us!"

"You turn more and more into your mother each day, do you know that?" Tristan asked.

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment," Tristan pointed out, causing Finn to snort and Rory to elbow him in the gut.

"I'm am so glad I switched those Post-its," Steph muttered.

"So am I," Rory said gratefully.

"Come on, Rory, Paris doesn't seem that bad anymore," Tristan said.

Finn snorted. "The girl seemed a bit bipolar to me."

"She did give off that impression, didn't she?" Steph laughed.

"Well, at least this year'll be interesting," Rory said.

"There you go," Tristan pointed out. "Look on the bright side."

"I still say you jinxed it," Rory said leaning further against Finn.

"I have a plan," Finn said. "Why don't you girls finish unpacking, Tristan, go meet your roommates and let them know you have a girlfriend who has needs." Finns said, causing Steph to smile impishly, "And I'll run to the store and get some food. By the time I get back, you girls just might find a place to put that TV in here."

Tristan sighed and grabbed Steph. "I'm not going out there alone," he said as they walked out of the room leaving Finn and Rory alone.

"Do you really have to go?" Rory asked, leaning her head back to look at him.

"I'll be a few hours. I have to run a few errands, then I'm going to get you girls food," he said kissing her. "How do you feel about foods of the world?"

"Not sure."

Finn nodded. "The way I see it is you girls need to know the best place to get take out. I'll go to the places that me, Logan and Colin always ate from."

"Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?" He asked looking at her in confusion.

"That you're here helping me unpack and get ready for my first year, yet you're not doing the same?"

Finn shook his head. "Not really because I know I'm coming back."

"Hmm, and I love that idea. Now go, I'm starting to get hungry," she said pushing him off the bed.

"Going, going," he said grabbing his jacket.

"Oh, and get the take out menus."

"What?" Finn asked looking over at her as he put on his jacket.

"Yeah, the menus. That way we can just order from the room next time. All those places have to have delivery."

"Any place has delivery if you pay them enough, love," Finn laughed as he left the room just as Steph entered.

"Where's Finn going?"

"He's getting our dinner," Rory smiled as she and Steph started working on getting the room into semi order.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"I think we did it," Steph said in surprise three hours later as she fixed her bedspread.

Rory nodded as she put the last book on the shelf and looked around the now clean room. "I didn't think we'd be able to, but then again..."

Steph flopped down on her bed, her arms spread wide and smiled. "God, I can't believe we're actually in college."

"Oh yeah?" Rory asked as she started setting the clock. She had yet to record the voice message that would be waking her up in the morning. But she'd figure that out later. "Why's that?"

"I thought I'd stay in the drama filled halls of high school forever," Steph said sitting up and sitting cross-legged on her bed. Rory sat the same on her own bed looking at Steph. "Then with Tristan being in North Carolina and only seeing each other during holidays, and the guys being in Switzerland," Steph shrugged. "I didn't get along much with the people at my school."

"Too much drama?"

"It was the worst," Steph said. "I love gossip, but not if it's going to be hurting people, which I know makes no sense," Steph shrugged. "It just seemed like everyone was trying to backstab someone in that damn school. You get tired after the first day or so. It just seemed that by the last week of school, graduation was never going to come."

"I know what you mean," Rory said playing with her comforter.

"You were valedictorian, right?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah."

"Did it seem like everything just wasn't going to end?"

"Actually," Rory shrugged. "A few weeks before graduation my boyfriend at the time had left. I didn't even notice till the week of graduation."

"How do you not notice?" Steph asked, not having heard the story of Jess.

"We were sort of fighting about something really stupid and I just didn't see him or talk to him. Last time we talked was on the bus and I didn't see him after that. Then with finals, and the speech and packing for the Vineyard, I guess graduation sort of came before I knew it."

"Did you like Chilton?"

Rory laughed. "It had its moments. I didn't have a set group of friends though. By the end me and Paris could have been deemed friends, but it was weird. It's a good school, excellent teachers, but sucky socialization skills."

Steph laughed. "All private schools are like that. It's such an incestuous group too. Did you notice that?"

"All the guys sleep with al the girls and all the girls sleep with that guys friends..." Rory shrugged. "I never understood how they didn't get STD's."

"Private school kids are smart. They know better than to get someone pregnant or STD'd."

Rory laughed. "STD'd?"

"It's a word!" Steph said.

"No, it's not, but I get what you mean."

They heard the door open and the guys talking before their bedroom door opened and Finn and Tristan stopped in their tracks.

"Holy crap, is this really your room?" Tristan asked as he walked in and put down a box of food on Rory and Steph's dressers.

"Yes," Steph said hugging her pillow. "Why?"

"It's huge," Finns said setting down another box and looking around. "Was it this big when I left?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "We just cleaned up a bit."

Seeing as the room was meant to be shared by two people, the room was bigger than most suites. There was a window on the left side of the room, Steph's bed sitting under the window, her desk, which she had decorated with pictures of her and Tristan along with her and her friends was to the left of it and her large dresser was on the right a few inches away from her small nightstand. Her dresser was covered with necklaces and earring racks so that they wouldn't get tangled or mixed up, along with her makeup.

Rory's bed was against the front wall. Two shelves sat above the bed, one held some DVD's that had been Lorelai approved, while the other held a select amount of CD's that Lane deemed Yale worthy. On the left of her bed was a nightstand that held her clock. Then to the right was her desk that held a picture of her and her mom, and one of her, her mom, father and grandparents at her cotillion when she was seventeen.

They had the long mirror in the corner of the room which was next to the closet they had filled with all their clothes. It had been a close stretch with the hangers, but they had made them last until the last pair of jeans had been hung. Then her dresser sat next to the door.

"The room is missing something," Finn said.

"Curtains and a rug," Rory said.

"Rory's already talked to Lorelai about it, and Lorelai is on it." Steph told them.

"I was talking about this," Finn said handing a small package over to Rory.

"Hey Steph, why don't you help me with the rest of the food." Tristan said, stariting to back out of the room.

"But it's cold outside," Steph protested.

"So get a sweater."

"But..."

"Steph, they're about to have a moment," Tristan spelled out for her.

"Ohhh..." Steph said nodding her head. She put on her slippers and grabbed a jacket. "We'll give you ten minutes," Steph said as she left the room.

"I'll try for twenty," Tristan told Finn. "But no promises," he smirked as he closed the door.

"Our friends are such freaks," Rory said as Finn sat on her bed.

"Yes, they are, but we love them. Now open your present."

"What is it?" Rory asked.

"You have to open it," Finn laughed.

Rory smiled as she ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. She looked up at Finn as she uncovered the content inside. "Oh my..."

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"I love it," she said taking out the picture frame. "How'd you know I didn't have any?"

"I met up with Tristan and Steph when they got here, and helped them with their stuff. And Steph told me that she had sent the pictures to be developed and that they'd be ready this afternoon. So when I left early, I called in the order of all the food and went to pick up the photos. I saw that one whole camera was of us during that goodbye BBQ."

"Finn," Rory smiled.

"I thought that one captured the moment perfectly."

Rory looked down at the picture. It was of them sitting in the sand, Finn's arm around her as she leaned against him laughing, while he said something in her ear with a smile. It gave off the impression that they were sharing some personal secret that only they knew.

"It's perfect," Rory said. She got off the bed and went over to her desk, putting it between the two picture she had there. She smiled and turned to Finn. "Absolutely perfect."

"Good."

"Now let me see the rest of those pictures," Rory laughed.

"Nope."

"Come on, Finn, let me see them!" She said getting on the bed and reaching into his coat.

"They're not in there," Finn laughed pulling away.

"Come on, I want to see them," she said going through the inside pockets. Finn wrapped his arms around her waist, so the she fell forward and braced her hands on his chest. He brought her down and kissed her.

She pulled back. "I want to see them."

"Shut up and kiss me before Tristan and Steph get back," Finn muttered pulling her back down so that she was lying on top of him on the bed. He nipped her lips and soothed the nips with his tongue, causing her to open her mouth, letting his tongue explore.

"All right, we're..." They both looked up and saw Steph with a wicked gleam. "And now I know why Tristan wanted to do it behind the library."

Tristan rolled his eyes as he entered the room. "It wasn't the only reason." He set the box down. "So what'd you think?" Tristan asked.

Rory sat up and ran a hand through her hair. "About what?"

"Her mind's still foggy, Tristan. Why don't you boys go get the TV from the living room while Rory's mind clears."

Finn laughed and kissed her softly. "This is why you should have gotten your own room," he laughed as he got off the bed and went to the living room to help Tristan with the TV.

"What are you guys doing?" Finn and Tristan looked up as they picked up the TV, to see Paris standing at her door in her pajamas.

"We were going to move Stephanie's TV into her and Rory's room," Tristan said as they started walking towards the room.

"I hope you know that you aren't the only people in here," Pairs said.

"I thought you said you could accept the little annoyances, Paris." Tristan pointed out as they put the TV down carefully on the small space of Rory's dresser that was not covered in the food filled boxes and saw that the girls had already put the hook in the wall so they could hang it up.

"I can, I would just like to point out that there's this thing called common courtesy."

Rory sighed. "Paris, would you like to join us? I think we have enough food."

"I wouldn't want to be the third wheel," Paris said as they guys hooked the TV up to the cable and plugged it in.

"You wouldn't be," Steph said. "I mean... It would give us a chance to get to know each other better."

Paris hesitated before nodding. "Fine."

"Great," Rory said. "Help yourself to some food."

"Is there any dairy? You know what dairy does to me," Paris said as she walked over to the boxes that held the food.

"I'm sure you'll find something dairy-free," Rory said as Steph went over to Rory's bed.

"So what do you think?" Steph asked.

Rory looked over at her friend as the guys argued over what wire went where. "About what?"

"Do you think I could take her?"

Rory laughed, causing Steph to smile. "Oh Steph, she'd have you pinned before you even lifted whatever you call a fist."

"Damn," Steph muttered before going back over to her bed.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

**_AN:_** Okay, so I didn't really mean for the chapter to be this long. Trust me, I didn't. I had started writing it, and I was copying the transcript and I ended up getting bored of it. And a few days ago I was sitting on my bed thinking about this story. I tend to think a lot about it, seeing as it's the one I usually want to write during class, but can't 'cause I don't have the transcripts.

So I was thinking, and I thought, if I'm bored just writing the transcripts, then you guy would get bored just reading them. I mean you've seen the episode, you don't need to read it too. And I started thinking, and well... I deleted about half of what I had written and started over. You'll notice that some of the convos are from the show, just different people saying them and things like that.

Also, chapters are bound to be this long. When I started this, I knew that I didn't want to cut episodes from the show in half and turn them into different chapter. I'd rather just write it all out and have it stay for a while.

I'm sorry it took so long, but I know that the next few chapters are ones that I've been looking forward to writing. Also thanks for waiting, and I hope this keeps you guys happy till I'm able to write again.

Kassandra


	13. Hi, Bye and A Naked Guy Too

**_Part 13: Hi, Bye and A Naked Guy Too _**

"Ugh, I hate shopping week," Stephanie groaned as she put her book bag over her shoulder.

"This is the first shopping week we've had, Steph, how can you hate it?" Rory asked stuffing her book bag with necessary materials.

"I hate anything that makes me wake up early," Steph groaned sitting back down on her bed.

"You sound like Finn," Rory laughed sitting on her bed and putting on her shoes.

"Ugh, no talk of boyfriend right now, at least not without coffee in my mouth."

"Or Tristan's tongue," Rory laughed, causing Steph to smirk.

"You've been hanging out with us for way too long," Steph laughed, then groaned when she heard the knock on the door.

"Why isn't Paris answering the door?"

"Because she left early?" Rory asked as she left her room and opened the door to find her smiling mom on the other side.

"Hey," Rory said as Lorelai kicked a box into the room and grabbed the rolled up rug from its propped position at the door.

"Hey, you know what's great about you going off to college?"

"My newfound independence, my dreamy and oh-so-sexy boyfriend?"

"Oh no. My new batch of youth-oriented catalogs. For example, where on earth could I put this fabulous purple flower rug? It's so young and cool, but doesn't really go with my room, so..."

"My room," Rory said excitedly picking up the box, closing the door and following her mom into her room, where Steph was fixing her hair in the mirror.

"Hey Lorelai."

"Hey Steph," Lorelai greeted putting the rug on the floor.

"Oh! Fits perfectly!" Steph cooed as she lay on Rory's bed watching the rug being unrolled.

"I love it when my mommy misses me," Rory laughed putting the box next to Steph.

"The matching beanbag chair arrives next week," Lorelai said, emitting a high five from Rory and Steph.

"Score!" Steph laughed. "So what's in the box? Oh my god, are those cookies?"

"Marshmallow cookies!" Rory said sitting down and taking the cookies out of the box.

Lorelai smiled. "Sookie sent them, Luke sent some muffins and I got you a copy of the Stars Hollow Gazette."

"You don't have to bring that to me anymore," Rory said passing the cookies to Steph. "I subscribed."

"You subscribed to the Stars Hollow Gazette? The editor of the Stars Hollow Gazette does not subscribe to the Stars Hollow Gazette."

"I didn't want to get cut off from the town," Rory shrugged.

"I've got a good way to solve that," Steph said handing the bag back to Rory. "Keep getting these sent to you."

Lorelai laughed. "I'll tell Sookie her cookies are a rave here at Yale, she'll flip. Hey, you guys wanna grab coffee before I head back to the Hollow?"

"Can't," Rory answered.

"Why?" Lorelai asked with a huff.

"It's shopping week," Steph told her

"Isn't it always?"

"So true. Now, if only Tristan could get a hold of the concept," Steph murmured.

Rory rolled her eyes. "The first week of school is called shopping week. You get to try out as many classes as you want before you pick the ones you want to stick with for the semester. I picked over fifty classes I'm gonna try out, plus another ten I'm gonna squeeze in if I have time. They all sound completely amazing."

"She was up all night, reading Finn the class subscriptions over the phone," Steph said with a roll of her eyes.

"You do know that if you weren't so pretty, you would've gotten the crap kicked out of you everyday of your life, right?" Lorelai asked with a teasing smile.

"Walk us out?" Rory asked ignoring her mother .

"Because you need double the protection," Lorelai said as Steph laughed and grabbed one more cookie before following them out of the room. "Hey, what time is your first class?"

"Oh, you know, soon," Rory said evasively.

Steph rolled her eyes as Lorelai groaned. "Uh oh."

"What?"

"You're not gonna rush to your first class and get there like an hour early, are you?"

"No," Rory said quickly as they gathered their things.

"You are!" Lorelai accused as Steph laughed.

"I am not!"

Lorelai turned to Steph who was munching on the cookie watching as they argued in the common room. "When Rory started elementary school, she told me the teacher wanted to meet all the parents at 6:30 in the morning, so here I am, a naive parent, getting out of bed and getting dressed up, taking Rory to school at 6:30 when half of Stars Hollows isn't up yet."

"Taylor was up," Rory defended.

"Taylor is a freak of nature," Lorelai said. "And when we got there," Lorelai began again to Stephanie, "The school wasn't open yet."

"Sounds like Taylor isn't the only freak," Steph teased causing Rory to glare.

"I did that once."

"No, you got away with it once. You tried it every - Lorelai looked around the room with a frown.

"What?" Rory asked putting her book bag over her shoulder as she and Steph got ready to leave.

"My mother was here."

"What?"

"My mother - she was here. I can feel it."

"Grandma hasn't been here," Rory said, then turned to Stephanie. "Has she?"

Steph shook her head. "I woke up early, we had no visitors."

"Smell that?"

"Smell what?" Rory asked.

"The room, it smells like guilt and Chanel no.5."

"Lorelai, you're going a bit crazy without your coffee," Steph teased. "Nobody's come in this room, except for Janet."

"Janet?"

"Our new roommate," Rory filled in, "Came last night."

Lorelai looked around the room again and pointed to the coffee table. "You put the coffee table like that?"

"No," Rory said slowly.

"Ha!"

"We have two other roommates, mom," Rory said. "One of them probably did it. Now come on, let's go get your coffee."

"You guys seriously don't smell that?"

"If you don't want me to be early, let's get that coffee you wanted," Rory said pushing Lorelai out of the door. Steph closed and locked it as they waked to the coffee carts.

"I'm telling you my mother was in there," Lorelai said pointing to the room.

"You're saying that Emily Gilmore snuck in our common room at four in the morning when we were all asleep just to rearrange our coffee table?" Steph asked.

"Anything is possible with Emily Gilmore," Lorelai pointed out as they reached the line to the coffee cart. "So what class are you going to run off to, once we get to the front of the line?" Lorelai asked.

"Japanese Fiction." Steph told her.

"You're taking it too?" Lorelai asked.

"Rory conned me and Tristan into it."

"Tristan?" Lorelai asked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "You should hear what Steph is making him take."

"What are you making your poor boyfriend take?" Lorelai asked.

"You know that scene in _Ghost_?" Steph asked.

"The pottery scene?!?" Lorelai asked causing Rory to sigh.

"Great, get her started," Rory muttered.

"I told you everyone would know what scene I meant when I said that," Steph said as they ordered their coffees.

"We watched it the other night, with Finn and Tristan, and she wouldn't shut up about that damn scene," Rory said as they went off to the side to wait for their coffees.

"Anyway," Steph said, "I've always wanted to take a pottery class, so when Rory read that there was a pottery making class, I decided to sign me and Tristan up."

"This is going to be disastrous," Lorelai laughed as they reached for the coffee.

"How much do we owe?" Rory asked pulling out her wallet.

"Actually," the man behind the counter said, "Those two guys already paid for you ladies."

"Oh, cute guys?" Lorelai asked turning and smiling.

"Definitely," Steph smiled as she thanked the man and went towards her boyfriend.

Rory smiled as she and her mom walked over to the two talking guys.

"'ello love," Finn smiled kissing Rory lightly.

"Hey, I thought you and Colin were getting everything ready for tomorrow."

"I left the yacht when I felt like throttling Colin. Logan's with him," Finn smiled, then looked up at Lorelai. "Hello Lorelai."

"Finn, how are you?"

"I'm good now that I've seen Rory."

"You are the sweetest boyfriend," Lorelai smiled as he wrapped an arm around Rory's waist. Lorelai took a sip and smiled at Tristan. "Hey Bible boy."

Tristan smirked. "Lorelai."

"I hear you got conned into a pottery class."

"I hear I get laid after the class, so I think it's a good deal."

Lorelai laughed and drank her coffee as she looked back at Rory. "I'll leave you with your friends then, babe."

"You've got to go?"

"Unfortunately I've got paperwork to look over for the inn that does not yet exist."

"You'll get to pick your wallpaper," Rory said with a smile.

"Let's hope so! I miss having the money rolling in."

"The money was never rolling in," Rory pointed out.

"Yes, but I liked to have the feeling that one day it would start to roll in," Lorelai pointed out at which Rory nodded in understanding. "Call me later?"

"Yep," Rory said as they kissed their cheeks.

"I'll be back with that matching beanbag chairs. See you guys later. Finn, have a good trip."

"Thanks, Lorelai," Finn smiled as she left with a wave.

"Ror, we'll see you in class?" Steph asked.

"Yep," Rory nodded as Stephanie and Tristan left her and Finn alone.

"So, tonight is my last night," Finn said as they started walking slowly towards her class.

Rory groaned and leaned her head on his chest as they walked. "Don't remind me."

Finn smiled kissing the top of her head. "Logan is having dinner with his family, and Colin has plans, so I was thinking we'd have dinner together."

Rory looked up at him. "What about your sister and dad? Won't they want to have dinner with you on your last night?"

Finn shook his head. "I asked dad if I could skip dinner to have it with you. He said it was fine, as long as I had lunch with him and Shelb. I'm meeting them at twelve at some restaurant in Hartford."

"You sure? I don't want to be pulling you from your family, Finn."

"I'm positive. Tonight it's me and you."

"Really?"

"Really," he said kissing her lightly. "Now I've got to get going."

"So you only came to pay for my coffee?" Rory teased.

"And walk you to your first class," he pointed at the door, where students were already filtering in. "Have fun, it's college."

Rory smiled as she got on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "That's the best advice I've gotten all day."

"Good. I'll pick you up at seven."

"I'll be ready," Rory promised, kissing him one last time.

"Have fun," he reminded her with a smirk. She turned and smiled at him before walking into her class and sitting next to Steph and Tristan at one end of the table.

"So..." Steph smiled.

"We're having dinner tonight."

"You are so going to miss him," Steph teased as a guy sat across from them.

"I am," Rory smiled, biting her lip. She looked up and saw a guy staring at her from across the table. He had curly brown hair and a cute 'I want to pinch your cheeks' face. He noticed her looking at him and looked down.

"What's the male version of a Mary?" Rory whispered to Tristan who smirked.

"I have no idea, I'll look it up," he laughed and looked over at the guy she was referring to. He nodded. He did have the Maryness to him. He laughed to himself, now why didn't he think of that when he was in high school?

"Thanks, Ror, you've got my boyfriend thinking," Steph said with a tired sigh.

"It's a nice improvement from all the other days," Rory laughed as Tristan glared.

"Not nice."

"We're nicer than usual," Steph laughed pinching his cheeks as he glared at her. Steph and Rory giggled as they got out their notebooks, just as the professor walked in. Oh yes, this year would definitely be lots of fun, Rory thought as she got out a pencil and began taking notes.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"All right. Well, we have pottery in an hour," Steph said causing Rory to laugh.

"Why is pottery so funny?" Tristan asked defensively, causing Rory to cover her mouth.

"No, I'm sorry, Trist, it's just..." Rory let another giggle escape, causing Tristan to glare. "I just can't help but to think how whipped you are."

"Shut up," Tristan said.

Steph giggled. "I love how defensive he gets."

"I'm not whipped," Tristan said.

"Oh honey, yes, you are," Steph laughed. Rory made a whipping noise, causing Steph to laugh harder.

"Thats it, I'm not going to this stupid pottery class."

"Yes, you are," Steph said. "I've had this clay fantasy since I saw _Ghost_ and I will get my pottery scene with my boyfriend, so go upstairs and put on that ratty white t-shirt you have hidden in your drawer and the jeans with the holes in the knees and meet me here in ten minutes."

"Fine," Tristan gritted out, emitting another whipping noise from Rory.

"You know, since you've been hanging out with us, you act differently," Tristan accused as he started his way upstairs.

"I know and I love it," Rory laughed as she and Steph made their way to their room.

Reaching their dorm, they saw a red headed guy, carrying his books towards the stairs.

"Russian Economics sucks," he muttered to them as he rushed up the stairs.

"I'll make a note," Rory said with a frown as they opened the door to their room.

"Looks like the stress of college life is already getting to some people."

"And it's only shopping week," Rory said as they walked in, only to stop.

"Whoa," Steph muttered.

"What is all this?" Rory asked. "Paris!"

Paris came out of her room with a book and a highlighter. "What?"

"What is all this?"

"What?" Paris asked looking up.

"This- The furniture, the couch, the chairs, the rug."

Paris looked around with a frown. "I don't know, must've been here when I got back, didn't notice."

"You didn't notice the massive entertainment center in our common room?" Steph asked.

"I've been reading up on my classes, Stephanie. Not all of us have daddy's money to depend on," Paris snapped as she went back to her room.

Stephanie was about to go after her when Rory held her back. "Don't bother, Paris isn't worth it at the moment."

"Tell me when she is, so I can put the massive beat down on her ass."

Rory laughed. "I will," she said just as her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"I was going to wait until you called me, but my life isn't as long as yours. Did you sit on the couch?"

"The couch?" Rory asked confused, then placing the voice as her grandmother's.

"I didn't want to get it too soft because I knew you would be studying there as well as watching television and you would need a little bit of support."

"You did this?"

"Of course I did it. My granddaughter's a Yalie now. She needs to live like a Yalie."

"But how? When?" Rory asked bewildered as Steph led her to the bedroom. Rory sat on the bed, throwing her bag behind her as Steph went through the closet.

"I snuck in yesterday when you were in classes just to measure to make sure everything would fit. Then I had to butter up your dippy freshman counselor so she'd let the movers in." She heard Emily sigh as Rory put her forehead in her hand, shaking her head. "Did you look in the entertainment center yet?"

"No," Rory said getting up and going over to it to open the door. "Oh my..."

"That's a plasma TV with a VCR and a DVD player. There's also a five-CD changer and a turntable , and the whole thing is wired in 5.1 surround sound. Now I have no idea what that all means, but the man who installed it said to get...Pink Floyd's _Dark Side of the Moon_. It's supposed to be amazing."

Rory shook her head. "Grandma, did you not notice the TV I had in my room? You know, the one I share with Stephanie."

"I didn't go into the bedrooms, Rory, that would be an invasion of privacy," Emily said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Rory opened her mouth and closed it again going back to her room as Steph changed her shirt. "Grandma, this is all really sweet of you, but I have roommates, you know? And this might make them uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable about what?" Emily asked.

"Well, um..." Rory thought about it as Steph waved at her.

"It's a common room... common..." Steph said.

"It's a common room, grandma," Rory started catching Stephanie's drift. "It is common to all of us."

"Mmphm," Emily hummed, not quite believing her.

"Four of us live here. There are four of us who live here together and the common room... it's what we all have in common?" Rory finished lamely as she looked at Steph who hit her forehead on her hand. Rory shrugged. "What the hell was I supposed to say?!" She whispered harshly.

Steph just shook her head and went back to her search of pants.

"Oh, just show them how to use the remote. I'm sure they'll be fine with everything."

"It's just... I worry that by you giving me all these things, it kind of makes it _my_ room."

"Exactly."

"What?" Rory asked, not quite sure where her grandmother was going with this. She looked at Steph who was holding up a pair of her old Chilton pants. "Wear those to sleep," Rory whispered.

"Right," Steph said throwing them behind her shoulder.

"Never underestimate the value of the upper hand, Rory," Emily said getting Rory's attention again. "You are in the real world now. Status matters."

"But grand-"

"Your grandfather and I are very proud of you. Enjoy the furniture. We'll see you on Friday."

"Okay, see you Friday." She hung up the phone and looked at Steph who was waiting for her to talk. "My grandmother broke into our room and furnished it."

"Well, now we know it wasn't just your mother's coffee withdrawal that had her smelling Chanel," she said as she held up a pair of sweats."What about these?"

Rory laughed,"Yeah, those are fine."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Sorry I'm late, son," Ronald said patting his son's back.

"It's not a problem, dad."

"Where's Shelby."

"She, on the other hand, left five minutes after you didn't show up,"

"Got distracted?" Ronald asked with a smirk.

"Some blue sweater or some nonsense," Finn smirked back opening the menu.

"You pointed it out, didn't you?"

Finn shrugged. "Might have thought she'd like it. What can I say, I'm going to see her when I visit mum later in the month. Might as well just have some quality dad and son time."

"I didn't know you carried black nail polish with you, son."

Finn chuckled as he decided what he wanted and put his menu down. "So, what made you late?"

"Paperwork," Ronald sighed, putting down his menu and rubbing his eyes. "Too damn much of it, if you ask me."

"If only we could all get by with just putting on a glittery dress and some heels."

"The world would be absolutely perfect," Finn laughed and told the waiter his order as did Ronald. Ronald sighed. "So last night?"

"Yep," Finn nodded.

"You planning anything special for Rory?"

"I was thinking I'd take her out on the boat, have dinner. If only I could convince Logan of the idea."

"Logan isn't fond of your sheila?"

Finn shook his head. "Nope, he's not fond of her at all."

"Why?"

Finn shrugged. "I'm not quite sure."

Ronald noticed Finn tense at the mention of his best friend not liking his new girlfriend. He knew that even though Finn was used to the one night stands, he was looking forward to trying the long distance thing with Rory, and he knew Finn would love every moment of it. Hoping to change the subject, he took a drink of his water.

"How was Rory's first day?"

Finn grinned, causing Ronald to grin in return. "She called after her first class, she said she had lots of fun. She thinking of keeping Japanese Fiction."

"Who does she want to be?" Ronald asked.

"Journo," Finn replied causing Ronald to nod.

"The next Katie Couric?"

Finn laughed and shook his head. "Christiane Amanpour."

Ronald nodded. "Maybe that's why Logan doesn't like her."

"Why?" Finn asked, wanting any type of reason to explain his best friend's behavior.

"Maybe Logan thinks she's using you to get to him, to get into the world of reporting," Ronald said.

"But she's not," Finn replied just as the food came. They thanked the waiter and started eating. "She's not."

"I know she's not, Finn," Ronald said, defending his statement. "I've met her and I saw how she looks at you. She's damn near tripping over her feet falling in love with you." Ronald smirked as he watched his son blush. "And you're damn near tripping over yourself falling in love with her. I never had doubts about either of your intentions."

"Then why would Logan?" Finn asked.

Ronald shrugged. "Maybe he's jealous?"

"Of?"

Ronald sighed. "Son, I have no idea."

"Colin said something about me settling down."

"And what do you think about it?"

"I think he's a few beers short of a six pack."

Ronald laughed. "Or maybe he's got the right idea," he shrugged. "Logan sees you finding a good girl, not just looking for a quick fuck, and actually liking it."

"I do," Finn agreed.

"Maybe he wants it? Maybe he wants it with Rory?"

"He's got too much dislike for Rory to want to be with her, dad."

Ronald shrugged. "Well, keep that in mind. Now are you ready to go tomorrow?"

Finn nodded, taking a drink of his water. "Yes, we've got everything ready."

"Do you have first aid kits?"

Finn laughed and nodded. "We've got at least seven. We've got the two the boat comes with, and I got five yesterday when I shopped with Rory. We got the big ones."

"Oh really?" Ronald said. "And what went into the decisions of the big ones?"

Finn laughed. "Rory said that if I cracked my head open again, I'd be walking around Fiji with a pink bandage."

"Smart girl," Ronald said, liking Rory more and more by the minute.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"What the hell is your problem?" Colin asked as Logan kicked one of his suitcases onto the deck.

"Nothing," Logan shrugged going into the saloon. "Just... working out some aggression."

"Then get a blonde," Colin glared, causing Logan to turn and glare back at him.

"You're asking about my problem? What the hell with yours? You've been grumbling all day about me. What the hell did I do?"

"_'You're going to Yale? We're taking this trip for a reason, Finn'_," Colin mimicked.

"It's true, isn't it? We're taking this trip to get away from school, yet Finn is going back."

"Because it's his girlfriend's first day. You know, Rory."

Logan sighed knowing he was being an asshole. He sat on the round corner couch and ran a hand though his hair looking up at the dark ceiling. "Yeah, I know."

"What is it with you not liking Rory?" Colin asked sitting next to him.

"I just don't like her," Logan said.

"She's given you no reason to not like her, Logan."

"She given me no reason to like her either."

Colin glared. "She's the nicest, most genuine person I've gotten to meet, and she's perfect for Finn. She's level headed enough to keep Finn from going crazy, but she's up for new things which keeps Finn interested. She's not going anywhere, Logan."

"Yeah, I get that, Colin," Logan sighed. "But I have my own feelings about her, and I can't help it if I don't like her."

"Yeah, you can't, but you can at least act nicer to her. And to Finn when he talks about her."

"Why do I have to suffer when it's his girlfriend?"

"'Cause we've had to suffer through your blondes," Colin retorted.

"Boys?!" They heard Finn calling from the outside.

"Saloon!" Colin called back, before turning to Logan. "It'll make the year easier if you at least pretend, Logan."

"Yeah, whatever," Logan sighed as Finn stepped into the saloon. "How was lunch?" Logan asked.

"Good," Finn said sitting on the coffee table next to them so he was facing them. "Dad and I talked. Made me promise to visit my mum sometime during the trip."

Logan nodded. "We'll plan it out."

"Great, uh... Logan?" Finn asked running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?" Logan asked looking at his friend.

"It's our last night..."

"Yes, it is, we leave at two tomorrow," Logan nodded.

"Right, and well... you two have plans tonight, and I was wondering if I could..."

"Spit it out, Finn," Logan grumbled, causing Finn to sigh.

"I was wondering if I could bring Rory onto the yacht and have dinner with her here?" Finn said quickly, averting his eyes.

Colin looked over at Logan who seemed to be in shock.

"What?" Logan asked, blinking.

"I thought I'd bring Rory to have dinner here. I won't take her into your rooms, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, not worried, Finn." Logan looked over at Colin who nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure, why not? This is your home too for the next year, you've got every right to bring your girlfriend on," Logan shrugged and picked up his bag. "I'm going to go unpack." He went towards the back of the boat and out of sight.

"He's pissed," Finn said moving to sit next to Colin.

"He's just not used to having to think about girlfriends, Finn."

"Yeah, maybe it'll take some more getting used to," Finn sighed. "I'm going to go grab my bags, unpack and shit."

"Yeah," Colin agreed as he watched Finn walk out of the saloon, leaving him alone. Oh, this would be a very interesting year.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory grabbed the phone off the nightstand and went into the now newly furnished common room and sat on the couch. Stephanie and Tristan had just left for their pottery class with the promise that when they returned Stephanie would help Rory get ready for her night with Finn.

So having the free time, with Paris off at her class and Janet off running, she called her mom. She didn't wait long for an answer.

"They burnt my fries, forgot to give me an extra side of barbecue sauce, the Jeep is still making funny noises and I have to spend my evening making elf ears for Aaron Thompson's _Lord of the Rings _party, because without an inn to run we have to make money somehow, which means catering little kids' birthday parties," Lorelai said all in one breath.

"Grandma broke into my dorm and redid the entire common room in twenty five thousand dollars worth of furniture and stereo equipment, and oh yeah, I get to say goodbye to my boyfriend of two weeks because he's decided to go to Fiji for a year with his best buddies."

"You win," Lorelai said leaning back on the couch, putting her feet up on the table.

"It's unbelievable, You should see this place. I feel like I'm at Uday's house."

"Okay, tell mommy the whole story."

"Me and Steph come home and all the normal college furniture was gone and all this stuff was in here. "

"What'd your roomates say about it?"

Rory sighed "Paris didn't even notice it and Janet was off running."

"Running?"

"She a jogger."

"Oh, 'nough said."

"So I don't know what Janet thinks, but I have to hope she's pleased 'cause that girl's in shape and can kick my butt."

"Well, just make sure there's something she likes on TV when she gets home. Something soothing to runners - like something that goes in a circle over and over."

"This is bad. I asked her why she got me all this if I had the TV in my and Steph's room. And you know what she said?"

"No, what'd she say?"

"She said that of course, she didn't go into my room, that's an invasion of privacy."

"No way!"

"Yeah! I think had you seen my face, you would have found it comical."

"I think anyone would have," Lorelai laughed.

"She didn't even ask. She got rid of everything that was in here. What if some of the furniture belonged to someone and they wanted it? I don't know what she was thinking."

"She was thinking, "Rory's life - mine. Must cover in chenille."

"I can't believe she did this," Rory said shaking her head.

"Oh yes, you can."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, Rory, come on, it's my mother. It's Emily Gilmore. This is what she does. You've seen her pull stunts like this on me for years."

"Yeah, but that was you," Rory pointed out.

"I told you when you borrowed that money from her that this is what you were getting into," Lorelai sang causing Rory to open her mouth in shock.

"I can't believe you're gloating."

"I'm not gloating, I'm just saying that when you sleep with dogs, you wake up with an entertainment center."

"Fine, "Rory huffed. "So what do I do?"

"Well, you could come out and say, "Grandma, this furniture is very nice. I appreciate the gesture, but this is a dorm room and I cannot guarantee that the other people will love it as much as I do, and I worry about expensive equipment getting stolen, and it's just too much right now.""

Rory mulled it over and nodded. "That sounds good."

"Okay good. And then my mother will say, 'Rory, your grandfather and I are paying for you to go to Yale. We are enabling you to have this rarefied education and you're being ungrateful and small-minded, and I resent it. I am hurt on a level you will not be able to understand until you yourself have a daughter or a granddaughter, with that nice Australian man Finn."

"Mom!"

"And that daughter or granddaughter will cut your heart out the way you've just cut mine out," Lorelai continued. "And I hope that small veneer of independence that you've extracted from this incident is worth the complete and total alienation of grandparents who have done nothing but loved you and thought of only you." Lorelai frowned. "My mom's disapproval sure is long winded, isn't it?"

"I could keep the furniture."

"Yes, you could," Lorelai nodded.

"This is just great," Rory huffed again, looking at the common room.

"Hon, seriously, if you feel so strongly, say something. I just want you to be prepared, that's all."

"Yeah, I know," Rory sighed.

"And take heart in knowing that when it comes to controlling a person, my mother targeted my soul, my independence and my entire future. At least with you, she threw in an ottoman."

"I guess. By the way, Steph apologizes for not believing in your seventh sense."

"Seventh? I thought my Emily sense was my sixth?"

"No, your sixth is your sense of snow."

"Oh, that's right," Lorelai paused as she heard Rory sigh. "So Finn's last night huh?"

"Yeah," Rory said sadly. "He's picking me up at seven for dinner."

"Oh, where?"

"He hasn't told me. He texted me about an hour ago saying 'wear something sexy', but other than that, nada."

"What a charmer that boy."

"I like him," Rory smiled, leaning her head back against the couch.

"You do. I'm glad, babe. Finn is a good guy."

"Really good guy. I'm going to miss him a lot, though."

"It's to be expected. I mean you guys have been dating for such a short time and now he's going away for a year."

"We'll get through it. It'll be hard, but we'll get through it in one piece."

"You have a lot of faith."

"It's not faith, mom," Rory corrected. "It's trust."

"And love."

"What?"

"Oh come on, Rory. You're falling all over yourself for him."

"I am not!"

"You so are! You should have seen yourself this morning when you found out he'd been the one to buy you coffee."

"It just means I have him well trained, not in love with him."

"Whether you want to admit it or not, you are and you'll notice that soon. I think this is going to be the one time you say those three words first and have them said back to you with meaning, babe. Because he loves you just as much."

"Finn's been a playboy all his life. He decides to settle down, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to love me."

"Not technically, but in this case he does."

"Mom!"

"Don't believe me. I don't care, he's not my boyfriend. I'm just stating what I see. I see that you look at him in a way you never looked at Dean or Jess. I see you act in a way that you never acted with Dean or Jess and you're happy."

"I'm happy, but not in love," Rory murmured, starting to think it over.

Lorelai shrugged. "Whatever, you'll see it soon enough. I'm going to go now, get started on those elf ears. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah," Rory whispered as she said goodbye and hung up. Was she falling in love with Finn?

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"What about this?" Rory asked pulling out a pant outfit from the closet and showing it to Steph and Tristan who were sitting on Steph's bed, Steph helping her get dressed while Tristan grumbled.

"No! You need something sexy! Something that screams 'do me'!"

Rory blushed, causing Tristan to smirk. "I haven't seen you blush in a while."

Rory shot him a glare before turning to Steph. "I don't want something to scream 'do me'. I'm quite happy being a Mary for the time being, thank you."

"So you're not going to send him a farewell he's going to remember?" Steph said disappointed.

Rory laughed. "It's like I'm going to sleep with you, not Finn. And I'm not sleeping with Finn. Or you," Rory quickly amended.

"What I would do to see that," Tristan smirked, causing Rory and Steph to glare at him.

"Comments like that get you kicked out of my bed for a good while, Tristan," Steph smirked, causing Tristan to blanch.

"Keeping mouth shut."

"Whipped," Rory coughed, causing Steph to giggle.

"How 'bout this?" Steph asked, pulling out a dress. Rory turned and looked at the dress and smiled.

"Perfect!" Rory said standing up and touching the dress. "Where were you hiding this?"

"Back of the closet."

"Well, lucky for you I've got the perfect shoes for this," Rory smiled biting her lip. "Can I..."

"Remember the whole what's mine is yours, what's yours is mine."

"You guys are going to fight over that very soon," Tristan laughed.

"We're girls, Tristan, we don't fight about things that are that petty." She rolled her eyes and turned to Rory. "You go get showered, I'll get the outfit ready and I'll do your makeup and hair."

"All in an hour and a half?" Rory asked surprised.

"If you go take a shower now, yes!" Steph laughed pushing her out of the door, handing her a robe and towel before closing the door. Steph turned to her boyfriend who was highlighting a passage in the book, before going to the bed and jumping on his back.

"Oomph," Tristan groaned turning to look up at his girlfriend. "Yes?"

"Where's Finn taking Rory?"

"What do you care?" Tristan asked, grabbing her arms and pulling her from over him to under him in one swift move.

"Have I told you how much I love that you went to military school?"

"Every time you see my chest," Tristan smirked. "Now, why do you want to know?"

"And such a nice chest it is," Steph purred, running her fingers down the hem of her shirt, while running her tongue over her teeth.

"Nice try," Tristan smirked, causing Steph to pout. "Why do you want to know?"

"'Cause it goes into the decision of how to do Rory's hair. Up if it's outdoor, so that the wind won't blow her hair in her face and down if it's indoor. That way she looks pretty."

"Leave it down," Tristan said kissing her softly.

Steph hummed softly kissing him back. "Why?"

"Guys like it when their girlfriends leave their hair down."

"Oh really?" Steph smirked nipping his lips.

"Yes, really," he laughed.

"And why's that?"

"'Cause it lets us do this," Tristan said moving his hand to grip her loose hair, pull it back roughly exposing her neck, and moving down nipping the pale white column. Steph giggled.

"That is a hell of a reason," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him do what he wanted. It was the least he deserved for putting up with pottery.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Can I come back in now?" Tristan asked, knocking on the door.

"Why are you even here?" Paris asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

Tristan turned and stared at the blonde. "Uh... my girlfriend sleeps here," Tristan said pointing at the closed door behind him.

"And do you normally sleep where your girlfriend sleeps?" Paris asked with a glare.

"When I get laid, yes," Tristan smirked.

"You live upstairs, not here. We don't need you taking up space."

"Are you calling me fat, Geller? 'Cause you could stand to lose a few."

"Tristan!"

Tristan turned and saw his girlfriend glaring at him, Rory looking at him in shock.

"You don't say that to a girl," Steph said. "Even if she deserves it. Now go to your own room!"

"But you said..."

"I know what I said, but then you called Paris fat."

"She called me fat first!" Tristan yelled.

"Um... sorry to interrupt your foreplay," Rory said, "But my hair..."

Steph glared at him. "Get in here."

"You just said..."

"Tristan, get in here!" Steph shouted at him going back over to Rory. Tristan sighed before closing the door and lying on Steph's bed.

"Don't ever leave me out there alone with her again," Tristan told Steph who smiled.

"Rory had to change."

"I've seen her in a bikini," Tristan pointed out. "Underwear and a bra cover more than that damn bathing suit did."

"Are you playing protective big brother now?" Steph asked teasingly as she grabbed the curling iron and wrapped a strand of Rory's hair in it and held it.

"I'm just saying," Tristan said.

"Bikinis and underwear are different, Tris," Rory said.

"How?" Tristan asked.

Steph rolled her eyes. "Boys are so dumb sometimes."

Rory laughed as Steph let the strand uncurl lightly from the curling iron and fall down Rory's back before taking another strand of Rory's hair.

"So where's Finn taking me?" Rory asked. Tristan smirked.

"I can't tell you, you know that, Mar."

"Come on, I want to know if I should take a sweater."

"No," Tristan said. "I'm sure Finn will keep you warm," he smirked.

"You're fine," Steph said. "Finn would have told you."

"One thing that he did ask me to tell you is to take overnight clothes," Tristan said.

"What?"

Steph stopped and looked at Rory who seemed to be panicking. "Oh sweetie, I'm sure he didn't mean like that."

"What?" Tristan asked.

"But what if he expects..."

"He doesn't," Steph said fixing the last curl and starting on the makeup. "He knows you, Rory, he knows that you're not one of his many. He's not going to push you into anything."

"Oh," Tristan said.

"What oh?" Rory asked looking over at him, causing Steph to smudge the eyeliner.

"Dammit, Tristan, stop distracting her," Steph hissed at him as she grabbed her cream and wiped the smudge away. Grabbing Rory's face in between her thumb and forefinger she placed her in the right place before starting her work again.

"Mar, he doesn't want you to pack because he wants you to sleep with him. It's just a 'in case' thing. Steph has to pack whenever going out with me."

"But that's because you guys _do_ sleep together."

Steph smirked. "There's that, but before I slept with Tristan, I still packed. When I go out with Colin, Logan and Finn, I still have to pack. It's just a precautionary, Rory."

Rory sighed and nodded. "All right."

"Now relax or your face is going to wrinkle," Steph ordered.

"How do you live with her?" Rory asked Tristan, who smirked. "She's so bossy."

Tristan smiled over at his girlfriend as she put eyeshadow on Rory. "I love her, it's enough for me."

"And I give him the best sex he's ever had," Steph said, smiling over her shoulder at Tristan and winking.

"That is probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Rory said with a laugh.

Half an hour later Rory was slipping on her heels as Steph packed an overnight bag for her. She didn't have classes till noon and that class only lasted an hour, giving her enough time to go to her class and then to bid farewell to Finn. Standing up, she went to her dresser and put on the necklace with Finn's class ring and let it fall leaving it hanging over the top of her dress.

"All right, how do I look?" Rory asked turning.

"Fabulous, Rory darling," Steph said with a fake English accent. "Finn will die."

Rory breathed in, excited for the night. They heard a knock on the door. Seeing that Rory wasn't going to move, Tristan got up and answered it. Opening the door, he smirked as he watched Finn fidget.

"Hey Finn."

Finn smiled up at him. "Hey DuGray, she ready?"

"Yeah, just finished. Come on in."

"You the doorman now?" Finn teased as he walked in. He was wearing black dress pants with his nicest black shoes. He had on a white shirt that was left untucked and the first two buttons were unbuttoned, his hair was slicked back instead of its usual disheveled self and his fingernails were clean of its black polish.

"You clean up nice, Rothschild," Tristan smirked.

"Thanks," Finn said, about to run his hand through his hair. He cursed softly and put his hand in his pocket. Tristan smirked. Just as Paris walked back out of her room, the door opened and another blonde walked in.

"Oh, cute boy," she said with a smile.

"Hands off," Paris glared. "He's Rory's boyfriend."

"I'm Janet. The new girl," she said sticking her hand out. Finn took it, shaking it.

"Finn, Rory's..."

"Boyfriend, I got it," Janet smiled. "Rory, your boy's here."

"Thanks, Janet, I'll be right out," Rory called as Steph walked out of the room

"I'm off for a run, I'll be back later," Janet winked at Finn before leaving the dorm.

Steph handed Finn the overnight bag. "She's freaking out," Steph told him.

"Why?" Finn asked, instantly worried.

"About the overnight thing."

"Oh," Finn said, this time giving into the temptation and running his hand through his hair. "I'll explain it to her when we get there."

"Where are you going?" Steph asked, wrapping her arms around Tristan.

"Like I'd tell you," Finn scoffed.

Paris sighed. "I should probably tell you that I'm not afraid to kick your ass if you even attempt to hurt Rory."

"Wow, an actual emotion other than anger from Paris Geller. Hell has indeed frozen over," Tristan said sarcastically.

"God, you guys are annoying," Rory said leaving the room and grabbing the clutch purse from the couch. "Ready?" She asked Finn.

Finn took a minute to take her in. She was in a strapless light pink dress that fell just above her knees, an inch of tulle covering her knees from sight. The layer above the dress was covered in an intricate design that caught his eye. A light pink sash was tied just above her waist. The dress hugged her in all the right places and added to her beauty with her curled hair and the smoky color that surrounded her bright blue eyes.

"You look wonderful, love," Finn said taking her hand and bringing her closer to kiss her softly.

"You don't look half bad yourself, Rothschild," she smiled.

"So I'm guessing that with blondies here and you two leaving that you haven't heard?"

"Heard about what?" Rory asked.

"First party of the year is on our floor," Steph smirked, then turned to Paris. "See, I'm informed."

"Really?" Rory asked. "When was this decided?"

"Since one girl said 'free keg'," Tristan smirked, causing Finn to laugh.

"Ah yes, back to school keggers, I remember them well."

"Technically, it's to celebrate the first week of first week of classes, but I'm anticipating the themes quickly degenerating to "hey, walking works -- let's drink. The important thing is that this party, the first party, is going to be on our floor. _Our _floor," Paris explained.

"Yes, you've made it clear that it's going to be on our floor," Rory laughed, as Finn hugged her tighter. "So what's your point?"

"I want to open our door."

Steph winced. "Come on, Paris, I just wanted to spend one night with my boyfriend in a room all alone. Who knows when I may have this chance again."

"Next week when you kick me out of the room," Rory laughed.

"Leaving our door open is a perfect opportunity to solidify our social standing at Yale, Stephanie. It'll virtually guarantee invitations to every other party thrown this year, and we'll get our faces in people's heads."

"If you want to 'solidify out social standings' and guarantee invitations to parties, have you thought about being nice to people?" Steph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The socialization process of college is vitally important. The connections we make here can last a lifetime. They can alter the course of our future. That's how important it is to open our door!" Paris yelled.

Steph looked at her wide eyed. "Have you seen who we are, Paris? We already have connection ups the wazoo!"

Rory giggled. "Did you just say wazoo?"

"Shut it, Rory, not helping," Steph said glaring.

"Come on, Steph, what's the big deal? Just open the door. Knowing Geller, she'll get tired of people going through her stuff in twenty minutes and shut it," Tristan told her.

"Easy for you to say, it's not your dorm," Steph said looking at him.

"All the dorms upstairs are opening their doors too. Mine included. I'm just smart enough to lock my bedroom door."

"Tristan smart, that's an oxymoron," Paris laughed, causing him to glare.

"I'm trying to help you, Geller, so I'd play nice."

Steph sighed, then looked over at Rory and Finn who were listening to the conversation. "What are you two still doing here? It's Finn's last night! You're listening to this stupid conversation when you could be spending alone time together. Unlike us," she sighed.

"So we can open it?" Paris asked.

"We can open the damn door."

"Good, now I've thought about some wonderful themes for our roo-"

"No themes, Paris."

"But..."

"No themes or I'm closing the door."

"Fine, no themes. I can live with it."

Steph turned to Finn and Rory who were smiling at the scene and gave a frustrated sigh. "Will you two leave already!

"Fine, fine," Rory said as Finn bid goodbye to Tristan and led her out. She closed the door, just as Pairs tried to convince them to set a theme for the room. Finn led her to the parking lot where his SUV was waiting. Opening her door, he helped her up.

"So where are you taking me?" She asked before he closed the door.

"Not telling," he smirked as he threw her bag in the back and closed the door. He went around to the other side and got in.

"You're mean to me," Rory said as he closed his own door.

"Absolutely awful," he humored starting the car and leaving the Yale parking lot. Rory looked out the window as Finn drove. "We can come back, you know."

"What?" Rory asked turning to look at him.

"If you want to go to the party, we can have dinner, then come back."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like a party person?"

"No," Finn said changing lanes.

"I don't want to go to the party, Finn. I could care less about the party. Plus you can rest assured that Steph and Tristan are going to drag me to parties, so that I can get out of the room and away from studying and experience college."

"That's good to hear, just be sure to stay away from Robert."

"Robert?"

"Annoying bugger, you'll know him if you meet him," Finn said making a turn towards the marina.

"I'll stay away," Rory laughed, looking at the window again and noticing the yachts that were docked. "Where are we?"

"The marina," Finn said parking and getting out, pocketing the keys. He went over and opened the door, took her hand and helped her out, before getting her bag and closing the doors and locking them. He held onto her hand and led her to the yacht.

"_Freedom_, who named it?"

"Logan. It's his dad's, but he got to name it," Finn said as he gripped her hand as he stepped on the gangplank leading to the yacht. He led her slowly up and helped her on, so she wouldn't lose her balance in her heels.

"Come on," he said to her, "I'll give you a tour."

The yacht had five rooms,or as Finn had said, cabins. Each with a full size bed, except for one that held twins. Those were on the lower level. then there was the living room, or main saloon, which was furnished in soft browns that mixed with the cherry paneling of the walls. It was well equipped with an entertainment system that would make any man cry at the wonders of it.

There was an outside patio that had half circle seating that surrounded a table. Finn said that it was mostly used for breakfast and lunch, then led her to the sun deck where another table was set, a chair on each side of the table. He told her that at night it was more romantic to use that table, especially out at sea when near the land, because everything was seen. She'd made a crack about how three boys had this romantic setting and wouldn't be able to use it most of the time.

Rory noticed that he was like a kid at Christmas as he showed her around, proudly showing her the rooms as if they were his new toys.

"Let me go drop off your bag in my room and we'll start dinner, all right?"

Rory nodded and watched him go down the stairs to where he had told her the rooms were. She stayed in the saloon and sat on the couch looking around.

She could definitely see Finn living on the yacht for a year, having a blast and just looking for the next adventure. She on the other hand would probably go stiff crazy. Probably read a book after book, then keep asking if they were there yet to pass the time. And seeing as Logan already hated her, she doubted that would get her on his good side.

Finn came back up and smiled taking her and and bringing her up to stand.

"Come on, I'll show you the dining room." She bit her lip as he led her out of the saloon, and towards another room. He opened the door and let her walk in. She sucked in her breath.

"Like it?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist

"Wow," she murmured, putting her hands on his as they rested on her stomach. The dining room was medium in size, but it didn't take away its beauty. It had a shelf with the crystal plates and glasses, then a table in the center. The table was set for two, with two candles lighted, a rose sitting at the center. Finn moved away and dimmed the lights slightly.

He walked over to her chair and took out her seat, she sat and he pushed it in. "I'm going to let the cook know we're ready."

"The coo-" She stopped noticing that Finn was already out of the room. She shook her head. This was supposed to be his goodbye night, yet he was making it a night she wouldn't forget.

He came back with Colin trailing after him. She bit her lip as she noticed Colin was dressed up in a tux, with a bow tie. Finn sat down with a smirk.

"Cider?" Colin asked politely.

"Yes please," Rory smiled. He poured her the apple cider, then filled Finn's glass. "So, Colin, how much is Finn paying you to serve us food?"

"What are you talking about, paying?" Finn asked. "Colin is doing this out of the kindness of his heart."

Rory raised an eyebrow and looked at Colin. "How much?"

"Like Finn said, kindness of my heart."

Rory scoffed. "How much, Colin?"

"A guy can't do something nice for his two friends?"

"I know from Steph that you had a date tonight, how much?" Rory asked as Finn squirmed.

Colin coughed the amount, causing Rory to frown, then to look at a squirming Finn. "How much?"

"Three..." Colin coughed again, causing Finn to stand up and push him out.

"Bring out the food, Colin."

Rory smiled at Finn. "You shelled out three thousand dollars for Colin to serve us food?"

"It was worth it," Finn smiled as he sat down again.

Rory shook her head and took a sip of her cider as Colin came back in and set down the plates of fillet mignon and Portobello mushrooms before turning to Finn.

"Is my job done or do you really need help with dessert?"

Finn was about to respond when Rory cut him off. "You can go, Colin."

He looked at Finn who sighed and nodded.

"Great. See you guys tomorrow," Colin said as he walked away.

"He still needed to bring out dessert," Finn said.

"I'm sure you can manage that, Finn," Rory told him, looking down at her dinner. "This looks really good."

"I'm glad," he said. They ate in a comfortable silence, keeping the topic light.

"My grandmother broke into my room."

"She did not?!" Finn laughed.

"I'm serious. Did you not see the new things in the common room?"

"I thought Steph and you had gone shopping," Finn said with a shrug. "What happened?" Rory then explained to him the highlights of her day and how Emily Gilmore did a makeover on their common room resting her hand near her plate. Finn covered it with his, running his thumb over her knuckles. Neither noticed that he had done it, or that Rory curled her fingers over his hand.

They switched topics to what Finn planned to do after the trip.

"Though my dad isn't pushing me into the hotel business, I want to try it out, see what it's all about, so my dad's arranged for me to run a fairly new hotel in Rome. It'll sink or swim, depending on what I do."

"Really? That's a lot of responsibility."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, it is, but I'm hoping that if I do good, I'll like it enough to maybe do that after I graduate. But I want to do it this summer. I'll be right off my trip from Fiji and restarting Yale after that. So I want to at least experience it this summer."

"It'll be different if it's next," Rory said, understanding what he meant.

Finn nodded. "Very. My dad's doing negotiations with the owners now for him to own it by the start of June. He'll keep it from going under until I get there mid-June. Then it's my job to do what's necessary to keep the hotel afloat."

"It doesn't scare you? That if you do bad, you might not be cut out for it?"

Finn shook his head. "Not at all. I'm grateful that my dad is giving me this opportunity. And I love the fact that I'm choosing to do it, and not being forced into it, like Logan'll be later on in his life. I get to decide now if I like the job or not."

"Your dad is cool."

"The coolest," Finn agreed as they ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence, Finn's thumb still running along her knuckles.

"That was so good," Rory said pushing her plate away and taking a sip of her apple cider.

"It was," Finn nodded. "Do you want dessert here?"

Rory shrugged. "Do you want to eat it somewhere else?"

Finn nodded as he took her hand and led her out of the dining room and outside. "Are you cold?"

Rory shook her head. "I'm fine."

"I'll be right back then." He left her outside, going towards the kitchen. Rory leaned against the railing, looking down onto the water splashing against the yacht. They'd stayed docked, for that she was grateful. She wasn't sure if she got seasick and she wasn't willing to find out. But looking out into the vast sea, she faintly saw the lights of New Haven and had to love the view.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning she saw Finn holding two glasses filled with chocolate mousse in one hand. He gave one to her and she smiled.

"Mmm, chocolate," she said putting the spoon in her mouth.

"Thought you'd like it," he said as he leaned against the railing, his back to the view. "Steph said you were freaking out about the bag," he said looking at her.

Rory frowned. "The bag?"

"The overnight bag."

"Ohh," she blushed. "Just a little," she admitted.

"Nothing is going to happen, love, not unless you want it too."

Rory smiled at him. "I know, and it's not that I don't want to. I'm just not ready."

"I know and I respect that. And I'm not expecting you to jump into bed with me, just because it's my last night."

"Then the overnight bag?"

Finn smirked. "It's a rule."

"A rule?"

"You never know what we might do, it's best to pack an overnight bag. Steph always packs an overnight bag."

"So when going out, always pack?"

Finn nodded. "It's safer that way."

Rory smiled as she finished her mousse. "So is it safe to say that I'm sleeping here tonight?"

Finn smiled into his mousse, before he took the final spoonful. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, that's nice. I just wish you could have told me beforehand, instead of having me freak out."

Finn smiled. "I'll tell you next time, how about that?"

"Sounds good," Rory smiled as he took her glass and set it on the table.

"Come on, there's still something we have to do."

"What, before we get to sleep?" She teased.

Finn smiled at her before taking her back inside, going into the saloon, then to the stairs that led to the bedrooms. "Whoa, where are we going?"

"My room," he told her as he started descending the stairs.

"For?"

"The surprise. We're also sleeping down there, I'm not sleeping on the couches."

Rory bit her lip before letting him pull her down the stairs. She noticed the carpeted floors and three doors, then the hall that turned left, which she assumed led to the other two rooms.

"This one is mine," he told her taking her to the first door near the stairs. He stopped in front of it. "Close your eyes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I don't have a blindfold handy," he teased. "Now close your eyes."

Rory sighed and did as he said. "This is a big step in our relationship, I don't close my eyes for every guy I meet, you know."

She heard Finn laugh. "Well, I'm glad you trust me." He opened the door. "No peeking."

"I promise," she said covering her eyes with her hand as well. She felt him get behind her and put his hands on her hips as he walked her into the room. He stopped her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You can open them now," he whispered into her ear, causing a shiver to work its way up her spine. Taking her hand down, and opening her eyes she gasped.

He had set little mini candles all over the surface of the room, the lights were off the only source they had were the flickers of all the mini candles.

"This is amazing."

"Not done yet," he whispered. He walked over to the built in desk in the corner of the room and opened the laptop sitting on the top. She watched as he moved the mouse, waking up the screen then pressing a few buttons. Slow music filled the air. She laughed recognizing the song, "Voyage to Atlantis" by the Isley Brothers.

Rory laughed as he walked over to her, putting his hands on her hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer as they danced slowly.

_Can I go on my way without you_

_whoa... how can I know_

_if I go on my way without you_

_whoa... where would I go_

_set sail with me_

_misty lady, set my spirit free_

_new love to find_

_and though I leave another behind_

"This is an unbelievably corny song," Rory laughed, pulling back to look up at him.

Finn smiled back down at her, kissing her lightly. "I don't download corny songs for just anybody though."

"I'm glad," she whispered, laying her head back down on his chest.

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_She's my lady, now and ever_

_Whoa...how can I know_

_Can we go all the way together_

_whoa... let it be so_

_So we'll say our last goodbye_

_And we'll make it this time_

_Hey... ho.. set sail with me_

_to a paradise beyond the sea_

Rory felt tears make their way down her cheeks. Though the song was so unbelievably corny and she could just imagine Finn sitting at the computer listening to all the songs that contained the words 'come back to you' and had some reference to the sea, she couldn't help but feel a sense of truth to the song.

He was leaving her and she wasn't going to see him for a year. She'd only hear his voice, over the phone, and she knew from the conversations they'd had when he'd been at the Vineyard and she in Stars Hollow that it wasn't the same as having him holding her hand and smiling at her when they talked.

"Don't cry, love," he whispered holding her tighter. "We still have eighteen hours left."

She gave a slight nod, biting her lip.

_Atlantis (is back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_Atlantis (is back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_Atlantis (is back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_Atlantis (is back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_Atlantis (is back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_I'll always (come back to you)_

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey, having a good time? I'm Paris Geller, suite five. It's open. It's got a candle - perfect for some deep conversation. Prepare two to five subjects to discuss so that the conversation doesn't lag and totally ruin the vibe. Party on!" She walked over to Steph who was talking with a brown haired man with a frown. "So I did a survey of all the rooms," she said cutting the guy off mid-sentence. "And by far, ours is the best."

"Great," Steph said, trying to return to her conversation with Robert.

"Three is too cluttered and four has developed a weird smell."

"Uh huh," Steph nodded as Robert gave Paris an annoyed look.

"Two was a contender for awhile until I started telling everyone that the girl who lives there was wait listed. You know, I'm gonna get out there and mingle, this is a great party."

Steph looked at her as she walked away, then back to Robert. "I'm sorry, Robert, without Rory here I have no way to shut her up."

"Yeah," Robert said with a roll of his eyes.

Steph refrained from hitting the guy. She'd never liked Robert, but he was a friend of Colin's and a member of the Life and Death Brigade, a secret Yale society that privileged students of Yale were inducted into. Steph was one of the new members this year. Without Colin, Finn and Logan to lead them, Robert had taken the role, much to her dismay.

"As I was saying, induction will begin towards September with our first stunt. There are three others on the list."

"Tristan?" Steph asked. She was going to join the LDB either way, but it would make it easier to go on trips if Tristan was going with her, and she didn't have to lie to him. She hated lying to him and refrained from doing it unless it was for his own good.

"He's on the list as well, he is a DuGray, Stephanie."

"Of course," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"And of course Lorelai Gilmore."

Steph frowned. "Rory?"

Robert shrugged. "The list read Lorelai."

Steph sighed, knowing that with this being Rory's first year, she was going to focus more on the academic part of school than the extracurricular. And without Finn there, she'd have no representative there for her. Steph and Tristan knew half of the members of the LDB solely because they'd grown up in that environment, and Colin had taken her to one of the events when she'd been visiting Yale during her senior year and she'd gotten to meet the other half. But Rory wouldn't know anyone and it would be uncomfortable.

"Don't induct her yet."

"What?" Robert asked surprised.

"Rory," She shook her head. "Lorelai, don't induct her yet. Wait until next year."

"Who are _you_ to give _me_ orders, McCrea?"

"I'm Colin's cousin, Robert, so drop the attitude. Don't induct Rory just yet. She didn't grow up in our world and doesn't know the first thing about the LDB. When the time is right, she'll be inducted, but not now."

Robert glared at her. "I have to talk this over with the elders. She's a Gilmore, Steph, she's supposed to be inducted freshman year."

"I understand that," Steph winced, Rory was the great-grandchild of one of the founders. It was her right along with Steph's and Tristan's to be inducted this year. "And as the great-grandchild of the McCrea founder, I'm telling you not to ask her this year."

"You're not a member yet, Stephanie, just remember that," Robert huffed before turning and walking away.

Steph stared at him, before feeling hands wrap around her waist. She leaned against Tristan's chest and let out a breath, relaxing against him.

"Roberts an ass, babe, don't let him get to you."

"I'm not, just..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I so do not want to be at this stupid party anymore."

"Then kick everyone out. It's your room," Tristan told her.

"Yeah, but Paris is having fun, and who am I to ruin her dreams of being popular with this crowd?" She said waving her hand to the drunks that were filtering into the common room.

"You're the nicest, hottest girl that I've ever gotten to date."

"Hmm, well, you are privileged, it's only fair that you get the best," Steph teased, leaning up and kissing his chin, before taking a drink of her blue plastic cup that was filled with the cheapest beer she'd ever tasted. LDB parties were so much better than this. Hell, sub parties were better than this and that only consisted of ten to fifteen rich kids, and a bottle of stolen scotch.

"Okay! Everybody out!" Steph turned to see Paris storming into the room kicking people out of the dorm. "This room is closed! Take your gross beer," Paris yelled pointing towards the keg in the middle of the room, "and your inane conversations somewhere else. MOVE!"

"What the hell?" Tristan muttered as everyone filtered out. As the last person left the room, Paris slammed the door closed and glared.

"Paris sweetie, you okay?" Steph asked, looking at her.

"If campus police come, tell them the bastards deserved it," Paris defended as she stormed into her room and slammed the door.

Steph looked at Tristan who sighed. "I'll go see what happened."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Do you want to change?" Finn asked as he stopped the song.

"Yeah," Rory nodded, walking over to her duffel bag and pulling out the pajamas Steph had packed for her.

"I'll go change in the bathroom," Finn said pulling out a pair of sweats from his dresser. "Leave you here."

Rory bit her lip, looking at the pajamas Steph had packed for her. It consisted of short shorts and a tank top, the shorts being the one less revealing. "Um, Finn."

"Yes, love?"

She stopped and turned to him. "Could you help me with my zipper?" She pulled her hair up and moved it to one side, giving him a glimpse of her bare upper back. She heard Finn walk over and his fingers move down the path of her spine, before settling on the zipper and pulling it down slowly, his thumb tracing the trail of pale skin as he bared it. He pulled it all the way down, then hugged her back to him, kissing her neck.

"You're a tease, love."

"Hmm," she smiled before turning her head to kiss him, holding the dress up. "Only with you." He nodded, pulling her closer to kiss her better, only to have her pull back. "One more thing before I change."

"What, do you want me to help you take the blasted dress off?" Finn smirked. "Because I'm very good at that."

"I have no doubt that you are," Rory laughed. "But I was actually wondering if you had some pants I could borrow."

"Pants? Didn't Steph pack you some clothes to sleep in?"

Rory eyed them, causing Finn to look over at where she was looking. He groaned as he saw the short shorts, putting his forehead on her bare shoulder. "Stephanie is trying to kill me."

Rory laughed. "Probably."

Finn pulled back, trying to keep his eyes away from her bare back and crossed over to his dresser pulling out a pair of sweats and throwing them on the bed. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said leaving the room, causing Rory to smile at his discomfort.

It felt rather empowering to know that she could cause that type of reaction from Finn. She'd never gotten the sense of having womanly wiles with Dean or Jess. And with Finn it felt like she was the sexiest girl he'd ever laid eyes on. Shaking her head from her thoughts, she quickly changed, folded her dress carefully, and draped it on top of her duffel bag.

Looking around the room, she noticed that it looked like any average room. It had a king size bed, with dark green covers and two built in night stands on either end. There was a closet on her right with a dresser across from it, which she assumed was bolted to the wall, so that the movement of the boat wouldn't topple it over.

In front of her was a built in desk, with a black swivel chair, Finn's computer sitting open with the screensaver running. She bit her lip before sitting at his chair and watching the slideshow run. It was pictures of the summer. Picture of Tristan and Steph, her and Finn, along with picture of all of them. She noticed that there weren't many of Logan though.

Moving the mouse, she noticed that his music program was open. She scanned the titles. 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs' to 'The Scissor Sisters' were one his music list. He had random artists like the oldies groups 'Cinderella' and 'Poison', but also 'Red Hot ChilIi Peppers', but he mostly stuck with the indie bands. Rory smiled at his eclectic taste. Lane would love him for his music, she thought as she minimized the program and got on the Internet.

She smiled over the fact that his homepage was Google. Feeling curiosity get the best of her, she typed his name into the search bar. not surprised when there were pages upon pages of results. Clicking on the Wikipedia result, she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"What are you looking at, love?"

Rory turned to see Finn closing the door to his room, wearing his sweats and nothing more. She restrained the blush, having seen him bare-chested numerous times over the summer.

"I Wikipedia'd you, Eugene."

"Oh lord, does it really have my middle name in there?" Finn asked. Rory moved off the chair so that Finn could sit down. She was about to stand next to him, when he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her down to sit on his lap. She arranged herself so that she sat across him, her feet hanging off the arm rest, her arms around his neck as he scooted in and took over the computer.

_"'Finnegan 'Finn' Eugene Rothschild was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Ronald and Roberta who are now divorced. He is the second child following Amelia Jay Rothschild, and is followed by Shelby Isabella Rothschild,_" he read. "_Finn is currently attending Yale_... blah blah blah."

Rory chuckled as he went back to the search engine. "What are you going to look up?"

"Well, you looked me up, now I'm going to look you up."

"Oh come on, I'm not on Wikipedia, who would want to know about me?"

"The Gilmore obsessers of the world of course," Finn smirked as he typed in her name. Rory watched as Wikipedia did in fact come up with results on her name. Finn clicked on and started reading the blurb about her along with an old family picture of her, her mother and grandparents in the corner _"'Born on October 8th 1984 in Hartford Connecticut Rory Gilmore is the only daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and the first born daughter of Christopher Hayden and the first granddaughter of Emily and Richard Gilmore. She attended Chilton Academy, graduating valedictorian and is now attending Yale, her grandfather's alma mater."_

"Oh god, how do they know all that?"

"You've got stalkers, love," Finn teased. Moving the mouse to the edit, Rory watched amused.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm editing this, love."

"Oh?"

Finn began to type and Rory laughed as she read it out loud. "_'Rory is currently dating sexy Australian god, Finn Rothschild."_

He then went back to his own, clicked the edit button and typed on the bottom of his.'_Finn Rothschild is currently dating sexy Stars Hollow princess Rory Gilmore.'_

"You're crazy."

"Only for you."

"And cheesy."

"But a good cheesy."

"A very good cheesy," she agreed, laying her head back on his shoulder. Finn stroked her arm as he leaned back in the chair looking down at her, her eyes fighting to stay open. He fought with himself before asking quietly.

"Why haven't you asked me to stay?" Her eyes opened slowly, before her blue ones met his green.

"What?" She asked, keeping the quiet of the conversation.

"Why haven't you asked me to stay?"

She moved her hand to stroke his soft cheek and smiled. "Because I know you would."

"Rory-" he started, before she cut him off.

"No, hear me out. We both have little doubts about this long distance thing, but we're both willing to try it and looking forward to the experience. How selfish would it be if I asked you to stay for me. Because I doubted our relationship that much."

"I could always take the trip next year."

"But not with Colin and Logan," she told him. "It's too late for late registration and I know that you don't want to do the hotel job until this summer and either way that's in Europe so you'd have to leave either way. So tell me, what would you do?"

"I could enroll for next term."

Rory sighed. "If it's what you really really want to do, deep in your heart, you want to stay and go to school, then go ahead. I'm not going to stop you, but just make sure it's really what you want to do. Not because of me, but because of you. Because who knows when you'll get to experience Fiji with your best friends again."

Finn sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. "You're too damn wise for your own good."

"Personally I would love to see you everyday, but I know that you have to take this trip and that you've been looking forward to it since you, Logan and Colin came up with the idea. So who am I to stop you?"

"My girlfriend," Finn murmured.

"Yep, girlfriend, not wife," she laughed. "I really have no say over your free will, Finn, just like you have no say in mine."

"You have a tiny say," Finn said putting his forefinger and thumb close together.

"Hmm, I guess you have a tiny say in mine too," she said mimicking the motion.

"You're a good girlfriend, love," Finn sighed resting his cheek on her head.

"And you're a good boyfriend."

"The best?"

"Mhm, the very best," she said snuggling closer to him.

"There's a way for you to see me everyday, you know."

"I'm not going to Fiji with you, Finn."

"Now there's an idea, but no." He moved the mouse on the laptop, and reached behind it to bring out a small black object that connected to the computer, if clipped.

"What is that?"

"A webcam," Finn said, closing the Internet and opening another program. She watched as he fixed the camera so that they both showed up on the screen clearly. She moved her hand and watched the screen mimic.

"It came with a headset. It's meant for video conversations." He leaned down under his desk and came back with a box and gave it to her "It's not the same, but it'll help."

Rory looked at the box before putting it on the desk, grabbing his face and kissing him. "It's perfect," she whispered before kissing him again.

Finn groaned as his hand found the curls of her hair, gripped and pull back to change the angle of the kiss. His hand flung out and found the top of the laptop, closing it, before picking Rory up and laying her down on the bed.

"I'm not sleeping with you, Finn," she whispered, running her hands through his hair.

"I know, love, but there's so much we can do in the fourteen hours we have left."

Rory smiled. "Shut up, Finn, and kiss me."

"Mmm and demanding, I like it," Finn murmured against her lips, before kissing her.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Steph rolled over, groaning. "Did you hear something?"

Tristan groaned, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You're tired, and you know that when you're tired, you hear things. Go to sleep."

"I heard something, Tris," Steph insisted, moving his arm away and putting on her pajama pants and tank top. She grabbed Rory's robe from the hook and pulled it on.

"Are you seriously going out there?" Tristan asked, rubbing his eyes and leaning up on his elbows.

"I heard something, Tristan," Stephanie said leaving the room, only to hear Tristan sigh and follow her. Putting on his sweats he reached the door before her and opened it. Steph walked out, only to gasp. "Oh my god."

"That's a naked guy," Tristan pointed out.

"Thank you, obvious boy," Steph said walking over to him, Tristan behind her. "How do I wake him up?"

"I don't know. I don't have experience in waking naked guys up. Hey, I know, we can have sex in the hall and your screams can wake him up."

Steph glared at him. "That was so inappropriate for this time of night," Steph told him. She lightly pushed him with her foot. "Hey, naked guy, wake up."

The guy groaned and looked up. "Hi."

"Hi," Steph said as Tristan nodded.

"I'm on the floor."

"You were sleeping, man," Tristan said.

"I have no clothes on."

"No, you don't," Steph said.

"I'm in the floor, I have no clothes on, and you're a girl, so I must be..."

"On the wrong floor," Tristan finished.

"Oh boy."

"Where's your room?" Steph asked.

"I think up. Are we on the first floor?"

"Yes," Steph nodded.

"Then up. Any idea how long I've been here?"

"No," Steph shook her head.

"So you have no idea how many people have walked by while I..."

"Sorry, man," Tristan said. "Steph woke up when she heard a noise. We just came out here to see what it was."

"Great. Now for the rest of my time at Yale, I'm gonna be 'the naked guy'."

"I'm sorry," Steph said. "If it makes you feel better, Tristan's referred to as 'military boy'."

"Steph!" Tristan glared.

"Just trying to make him feel better," Steph muttered.

"You know what's really great?" The guy said, bringing their attention back to him. "Tomorrow, when the 'naked guy' nickname starts spreading around campus like wildfire, I'm gonna be in my third hour of throwing up."

"Well, it's been really quiet out here for a while now." Tristan said with shrug. "So there's a chance that no one but us saw you."

"Oh yeah?"

"And we promise not to say anything," Steph said crossing her fingers behind her back. She was soooo telling Rory.

"And if there's a chance that you could refrain from, you know, being naked again in the wrong hallway at the next party," Tristan said "Then there's a chance you might get a completely different nickname, like, 'the never naked guy."

"You two are very kind," he said starting to get up.

"Whoa, hold on there, cowboy," Steph said turning around as Tristan did as well. Steph took off Rory's robe and handed it to him. "Here, you can borrow this, it's my roommate's."

"Thanks," he muttered. She heard the rustling of him putting on the robe. "I'm good." They turned back around to see him in the short blue robe. Tristan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

"Weren't you two in my Japanese Fiction class today? You were sitting with a brunette."

"Rory," Tristan said. "She's the owner of the robe."

"Thought so. I'm Marty."

"Stephanie, and my boyfriend Tristan."

"I won't remember that tomorrow. So I should probably try and find my room. And my pants, 'cause that's where I kept my keys."

"So pants first?" Steph asked.

"Right, pants first," Marty muttered walking towards the stairs

"Wait, you're Marty?" Tristan asked. "Martian Rodgers?"

Marty turned and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're one of my roommates," Tristan said. "I'll go get you the key, we'll put out a search and rescue party for your pants tomorrow." Tristan laughed as he went back to Steph's dorm room to get his key.

Marty nodded, leaning against the railing.

"She has a boyfriend," Steph said.

"What?" Marty asked surprised looking up.

"Rory, we saw you staring at her today in class. In case you were interested in her, she has a boyfriend."

"Oh, I wasn't, I'm sorry," he said caught off guard, just as Tristan came back. Tristan handed him the key. "Thanks."

"Welcome," Tristan nodded.

Marty started climbing up the stairs with a shake of his head. "Yep, I'm officially stupider than my brother. I never thought that would happen."

Tristan reached for Stephanie's hand and took her back to the dorm room, closing the door and making sure it was locked.

"He likes her," Stephanie whispered as they walked back to the room.

Tristan frowned. "What?"

"Marty, he likes Rory."

"Who doesn't?" Tristan laughed as he fell back on the bed and brought Stephanie down with him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and covered them up.

"No, Tristan, I mean romantically."

Tristan scoffed. "Come on, Steph, the guy stared at her in class. It doesn't necessarily mean he likes her like that. It means he might be a bit stalkerish."

"Tristan!" Steph laughed hitting his arm.

"But doesn't mean he likes her. Now go to sleep, we've got an early class."

"Fine," Steph sighed, closing her eyes. "But I still think he likes her."

"Sleep now," Tristan ordered.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Turn it off," Rory groaned, as the piercing sound of the cell phone echoed around the room. Finn reached over and threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall, then muffled as it landed in Rory's clothes.

He pulled Rory closer, causing her to rub her cheek against his chest, her fingers running down his side lightly, before pushing him away. "I have to go."

"No, no, you don't," he said pulling her closer and covering their heads with the covers. "It wasn't your phone that woke you up, it was the bell outside announcing a new boat. Happens every night."

"Look at you, playing Romeo," Rory laughed. "'Twasn't the lark, twas the nightingale.' Never took you for a Shakespeare fan."

"Stay and you'll find just what I'm a fan of."

"You wish," she laughed, pushing him off her and getting out of bed before Finn could pull her back in. She grabbed her jeans and shirt from her bag and went to the adjoining bathroom to change.

Finn laid back in bed, resting his head on his arm and staring at the white ceiling. He couldn't believe that he was actually leaving Rory for a year. He had no doubt that their relationship would survive. They clicked like he hadn't clicked with any girl before. He never knew what it meant to have chemistry with a person, until he had kissed Rory, then fully understood the chemical reaction bubbling in his belly that gave him the feeling of floating.

God, Rory was right, he was cheesy. But when their lips met, he literally saw the fireworks everyone talked about. Hell, she made him hard with just a look and he'd never had that happen to him ever.

"I'll be back before two," he heard her say. He looked up to see her walk, well, hop out putting on her Converse.

"Skip class and stay with me," Finn said. He'd also never pleaded with a girl he had yet to sleep with, or ever, to stay with him.

"I wish I could," she said putting the borrowed sweats on the edge of the bed. "But I have to go to this class."

He nodded as she grabbed the box with the camera and put it in her bag. He got out of bed and went over to his laptop, sitting down and opening the CD drive as she went back to the bathroom. He took out the burned disc he'd been playing when they'd danced, grabbed a sharpie from his drawer and quickly wrote a title on it. He bent down, sticking the CD between her clothes so it wouldn't break, then zipped the bag back up.

"Oh shoot," he heard Rory say as she came back out from the bathroom, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"What?" Finn asked.

"How do I get back to school? You drove here and you can't leave," Rory told him. He'd told her last night that he, Colin and Logan still had some last minute things to do on the boat and he was in charge of staying on the marina.

"Guess you can't," Finn smirked.

"Finn," Rory warned.

"Kidding, love." He walked over to his dresser, got the keys to his car and handed them to her. "Take my car."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, I'm not leaving the marina until we set sail. Logan and Colin are bringing what we need. So you take the car, won't do me any good in Fiji anyway."

"You sure?"

"Positive," he said placing the key in her hand. "Now go before I keep you here."

Rory grabbed her bag before kissing Finn. "I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

"I'll keep the anchor down until you arrive."

Rory laughed as she kissed him one last time before leaving the room. She climbed up the stairs, smiling and jingling the keys in her hand as she came to the main saloon.

"Hi."

She looked up to see Logan at the bar with a bottle of scotch in his hand. "Oh, hi," Rory greeted politely.

He put the bottle down on the shelf behind him, before coming around the bar to stand a few feet in front of her. "What are you still doing here?"

Rory raised an eyebrow. "I had dinner with my boyfriend."

"And you slept here?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I slept in Finn's room."

Logan smirked. "Giving Finn a goodbye to remember, huh?"

Rory opened her mouth before closing it, forming her thoughts and shaking her head. "I'm not like one of those blondes you hang out with, Logan. I don't open my legs for any guy that happens to take an interest in me."

Logan glared. "You have no right to criticize the girls I go out with."

"You're right, I don't," Rory agreed. "But I do have a right to defend myself and next time it won't be verbally."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn tried going back to sleep, but with the scent of Rory's shampoo on his pillows and an annoying buzzing from the corner of the room he couldn't will himself to sleep. With a sigh, he pulled himself up and went towards the buzzing, tracking it down to the corner of his room, near his desk where there was a pile of clothes he'd worn last night. Moving the clothes, he found Rory's cell phone, lighting up, buzzing and ringing some girly tune, then going quiet.

He picked it up and left the room hoping to catch Rory before she left. He reached the stairs, when he heard voices up above. Climbing them slowly, he reached the top and found Logan and Rory talking. He hid behind the wall listening.

"Yeah, I slept in Finn's room."

He could hear the smirk in Logan's tone when he said. "Giving Finn a goodbye to remember, huh?"

"I'm not like one of those blondes you hang out with, Logan. I don't open my legs for any guy that happens to take an interest in me," Rory told him offended.

"You have no right to criticize the girls I go out with."

"You're right, I don't," Rory agreed. "But I do have a right to defend myself, and next time, it won't be verbally."

"Are you threatening me, Gilmore?"

"Offend me again and we'll find out." Rory shook her head. "I have no idea what I did to make you hate me, Logan, and I have the feeling that neither do you. So when you get a clue, call and tell me, so I can stop."

"Hopefully, this trip'll knock some sense into Finn," Logan muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rory asked, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

Finn took that moment to interrupt, having heard enough. "Rory, love?"

Rory turned. "Finn?"

Finn stepped closer to her. "You forgot your phone. It's been ringing."

"Oh." She walked closer to him. As she took the phone, he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer. "Some would think that you left your phone down there on purpose."

"Maybe," she said. "I really have to go," she whispered.

"I know," he whispered back.

She bit her lip, before looking up at him, resting her hands on his chest. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to be sorry for what he said."

Rory shook her head. "He's just looking out for you."

"I'm old enough to look after myself," Finn said, just as her phone began to ring again. She looked down and answered, still in Finn's arms.

"Hey Steph... Really? That's great! ...of course it's awful that his grandmother died, Steph, I'm not that insensitive... Yeah, I'll go pick Lane up, she wanted to say goodbye to Colin... Yep... see you later... bye." She hung up and looked back up at him. "My class got canceled, the teacher's grandmother passed away."

"Then you can stay a while longer?" Finn asked.

Rory looked over her shoulder where Logan was stocking the bar muttering to himself. "I'd better not. I'm going to go to Stars Hollow for a while. Lane wanted to come down and I told her I'd pick her up if I had time and now..."

"You have time," Finn nodded. "All right."

"I will see you later though." She leaned up to kiss him, prepared to pull back, but Finn, having other plans, held her in place, kissing her deep and hard. She knew in the back of her mind that he was proving a silent point to Logan, but not willing to push him away, she pulled him closer. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

"Still not going to stay?"

"No!" She laughed. "Bye."

"Bye," Finn smirked as she left. He made sure she was gone before turning to Logan, who had his arms crossed over his chest. Finn mimicked the pose. "If you say, or do, or I hear that you've said something about Rory that was offensive in any way, Logan, I will pull out of this trip."

"Finn..." Logan started.

"No." Finn said shaking his head. "She's my girlfriend, Logan. Just like I've accepted your many bedmates, learn to accept Rory. She's here to stay, and if you're not happy about it, tell me now and I'll pack my things and get off the yacht."

Logan's jaw ticked, before nodding. "Fine."

"Fine what?" Finn asked confused. "Fine as in 'I accept her', or fine as in 'I'll throw your bags off myself'?"

"Fine, I accept her," Logan muttered.

"Good," Finn nodded. "Now I'm going to go watch my girlfriend figure out how to drive my car," Finn nodded as he left the room, leaving an upset Logan behind.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory sat in Finn's car, putting the key in the ignition and making sure she knew where everything was before backing up carefully. She did not want to break his car. She looked in the rear view mirror to see Finn leaning against the railing smirking, before turning and going back inside.

Pulling onto the freeway she thought about what she'd heard Finn tell Logan. That if Logan said anything bad about her, he'd come back. With one remark, Finn was willing to almost break a friendship that he'd had for years for her. And she didn't know how to feel about it. She knew she would never break off ties with her friends for a guy.

Lane always came before boyfriends and always would, same now with Steph, Tristan and Colin. Though she had the luck that they were her boyfriend's best friends and they liked her, and Lane had given best friend approval of Finn, she didn't have to worry about it. But Logan, he was the odd ball.

Logan had decided not to like her for some unfathomable reason. And with him not liking her, Finn was willing to ditch one of his best friends for bad mouthing her. And truth be told, she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

Turning on the Stars Hollow exit, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and parked the car in front of Luke's where she was sure her mother would be for breakfast and hopefully Lane. Grabbing her phone, she got out of the car and jogged across the street, locking the doors behind her and walking into Luke's.

"Morning Rory," Luke greeted as she walked in.

"Morning Luke," Rory smiled. "My mom here?"

"She ran to the costume store, something about elf ears."

"What about Lane?"

"Haven't seen her," Luke said. 'Take a table. I'll grab you and Lorelai breakfast."

"You're being really nice... Why?"

"No reason," Luke said going into the kitchen, just as Lorelai walked in with her bags.

"Hey kiddo, what are you doing here? I thought you had a class."

"I did, but the teacher's grandmother died and it got canceled."

"So why aren't you spending more time with Finn?" Lorelai asked sitting down. "I'd think you would, being his last few hours and all."

"He's going to Fiji, mom, not the electric chair. And Logan showed up."

"Oh, what was that like?" Lorelai asked intrigued.

"Well, there were some words shared."

"Like?"

"Like if he ever insulted me again, I'd hit him."

"What'd he say?"

"He implied that I slept with Finn. I told him that I wasn't like the girls he dated and then the threatening came in. And then Finn broke it up before I followed through."

"Aw, sweets, that sucks."

"Yeah," Rory shrugged as she took out her cell phone.

"So tell me about last night, what'd you two do?"

"I was actually about to call Lane, so she could come over and I could share with her too."

"I'd do it now, while Luke's distracted," Lorelai said as Rory dialed the number.

"Hello?" Lane answered quietly.

"Lane?" Rory whispered.

"Oh, thank god it's you."

"What's wrong?"

"My mom has been getting calls from the Seventh-day Adventist college all morning."

"Why?" Rory asked.

"I wore a bracelet. They saw, now they're talking about the proper action to take... save me."

"We're at Luke's. I was about to tell mom about my date, come over. And bring those CDs for Colin, I'm taking you to New Haven with me."

"Oh thank you, thank you. I'll be there in two minutes, maybe even less." Rory laughed as she hung up.

"She's coming."

"She's going to New Haven with you?"

Rory nodded, pocketing the phone. "She wanted to give Colin some CDs. Apparently they talked when he came with Finn last week, and they had the same taste in music, and she promised to let him borrow some that he might like. I told her that if I had time, I'd come pick her up before they left."

"Aww, she likes him."

"I think so too," Rory said. "I bet that by the end of the year, she and Colin are together."

"I give it a month," Lorelai said with a laugh as Lane came in, carrying a stack of CD's.

"All right, I'm here and I'm not going back home until late night, when my mom is too tired to lecture me."

"Mama Kim too tired to lecture you?" Lorelai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point, can I never go home?"

"You can stay with me until it blows over," Lorelai laughed, then turned to Rory who was smiling. "Now on to the date!"

"Okay, well..." Rory began, giving them the details of the date, starting with dinner and Colin wearing the tux and serving them dinner, to her and Finn slow dancing in his room, the entire thing about the camera and how Finn had told her that she would be able to see him near every day with it, to waking up and Finn playing Romeo.

"Oh my god! That is sooo sweet!" Lane cooed. "And the Isley Brothers, corny, but got to say he's got taste in romantic cheesy songs."

Rory laughed. "I told him that, then ended up crying."

"Aw, my baby loves her guy."

"I don't love Finn," Rory laughed. "I just really, really, really like him."

"And you're really, really, really going to miss him," Lorelai told her, rubbing her hands as Rory looked at the table. She watched Rory nod slowly, before realizing her daughter was crying. "Aww sweets, I didn't mean to make you cry," Lorelai teased as she and Lane scooted closer. Lane rubbed her back smiling, as Lorelai hugged her. "You two are going to be fine."

"I know," Rory nodded. "I know, doesn't stop me from missing him though."

"I've never seen you like this for a guy. Not when Dean left for two weeks for his grandmother's house, and not when Jess left," Lane said.

Rory shrugged. knowing that what Lane said was true. She'd never acted like this with her other boyfriends. She'd never cried over them when they left her for a few weeks. She'd never felt that sinking feeling deep in her stomach, of knowing that she was going to have to watch them leave. Yet with Finn, she was dreading it. She was dreading having to watch him leave from the marina and not being able to go with him or have him stay with her. She dreaded not being in contact with him for a year.

Though she knew it was going to work, both she and Finn had invested so much in their relationship as of late to let it just drop. And they were both looking forward to trying the long distance relationship thing, she couldn't help but feel the sadness and not being able to touch him, hold his hand, kiss him. God, not kissing him for a year was going to be the hardest, she thought, wiping her eyes.

"You okay now?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "I'm fine. Now where is Luke with our food?"

"Have you noticed him acting weird?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "He offered to grab us breakfast and he has yet to come with it. That was almost half an hour ago."

Lorelai shrugged as she stood and looked for the diner owner. "Oh Luke!" She sang as she went behind the counter.

Lane smiled then turned back to Rory. "So whose car?"

"What?"

"The big black gas guzzler, whose is it?"

"Finn's," Rory laughed. "He's staying at the marina until they leave, and I had no way to get back to school, so he told me to take his car."

"That is a very cool car," Lane said.

"Isn't it?" Rory laughed as she looked at the CDs Lane had brought with her. Five minutes later, Lorelai came back with Luke carrying food at tow. He set it down in front of them and got them coffee, then went back to helping his customers.

"Where was he?"" Rory asked.

"Just outside," Lorelai said as she looked over at Luke, then back to her daughter.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey guys!" Steph greeted as she and Tristan stepped on the yacht.

"Colin is out buying some last minute things with Logan, it's just me, love," Finn said as he stood up from plugging in the entertainment system. "What are you two doing here?"

"Came to say bye," Tristan said as he scanned the titles of the games they were taking with them to keep them entertained.

"I know that," Finn laughed. "But you two are an hour and a half early. Rory's coming in about half an hour with Lane."

"Lane?" Steph laughed as she sat on the couch.

"We have our theory that she and Colin might have a thing," Finn smirked as he sat next to her, Tristan still looking at the games and movies.

"He had a date last night," Steph pointed out.

"Came back early." Finn told her. "Said he wasn't interested."

"Are you serious?" Tristan asked taking a seat.

Finn nodded. "Said it was the most boring date he'd been on. Something about her not knowing who The Sparks were," Finn smirked. "He's starting to compare the girls."

"That's hilarious," Steph laughed.

"Another one of us settling down. I think that'd probably kill Logan," Tristan said, causing Steph to nod in agreement.

"I heard him and Rory arguing today," Finn muttered. Steph and Tristan turned to him.

"About what?" Steph asked.

"Rory slept here last night. And before you ask, nothing happened. We made out, that's about the extent of how far things went between us last night, and we slept. She left this morning rushing to her class and she ran into Logan. Logan assumed that she had slept with me in the biblical way and Rory defended herself, and things just got out of hand. I stepped in before Rory slapped Logan, but I think had I not, it would have gone that far."

"Jeez, Logan really does not like her, does he?" Tristan asked, surprised by his friend's actions. Logan had never shown any hostility towards Steph when he had settled down with her. But then again, Stephanie was Colin's cousin and they'd all known each other since they'd been kids growing up.

But then, he'd also never shown any hostility towards any of the girls Finn and Colin went out with. Even if they weren't girlfriends, Logan had always been welcoming to new girls. What caught him most was that while Logan was all for new adventures, he didn't support the one Finn was taking.

Sure, it wasn't necessarily a treasure hunt for the LDB that led to them jumping off something dangerous, but Finn had never had a girlfriend, and now with Rory, he was willing to go to Fiji and not even think of touching another girl because of her. And that was probably the biggest risk and adventure any guy Finn's age could take.

"I just want to figure out why," Finn sighed. "And what I can do to get Logan to think differently. Or what Rory can do. I feel bad that she has to go through it."

"It'll be fine, Finn. Maybe during your trip Logan will realize just how serious you are about Rory and let it go."

Finn nodded. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed, love."

"Hey!" Colin greeted, coming into the main saloon. "What are you two doing here?"

"God, we can't say bye to our three best friends?" Steph asked standing up and kissing his cheek.

"Finn, your girlfriend's here," Logan grumbled coming in after Colin. "And she brought her friend."

Colin smiled as he went back outside.

Finn smirked. "I give it an hour," he laughed before walking outside to greet Rory. He got off the yacht following Colin as Rory and Lane shut the doors to his car and walked over to him.

"Hey, you made it," Colin smiled at Lane.

"Um... yeah," she blushed looking down and tucking hair behind her ear. "Rory told me she had some free time and that I could lend you those CDs."

"Oh right," Colin nodded.

"Um... Lane,." Rory said. "The CDs are in the car."

"Right, I'll get them," Lane said as she opened the car door, and leaned down to get the stack of CD's she was going to loan to Colin. Finn smiled at Rory as he took her hand to bring her closer. Lane closed the door and handed Colin half the stack as she held on to the other half.

"Why don't we take these to my room? I'll look through them in case I have some of these already."

"Oh, all right," Lane nodded.

"Come on, I'll show you the way," Colin laughed as he led her to the yacht.

"Oh my god, I'm going into a boy's room," Lane whispered to Rory, who laughed as she watched her best friend follow Colin.

Lane followed Colin into the main saloon, where three other people were sitting. One she knew from Rory's description when she went to Chilton. The others she could only guess who they were.

"Lane, I don't think you've met everybody."

"I know Tristan," Lane said. "He came to Stars Hollow once."

Tristan frowned. "Wasn't aware you saw me."

Lane laughed as she readjusted the CDs in her arm. "Trust me, everyone was talking about the rich blonde guy that dropped the flour in Doose's market. And the fact that Dean walked around town for a good twenty minutes to calm down."

Tristan laughed. "Good to know I riled him up."

Lane laughed. "And I'm guessing you're Steph, the new best friend."

"Oh god, no, I'm just... a Yale buddy. Not replacing you I swear. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I'm going to have to talk to Rory about that. You so had dibs on her first."

"Steph, she was kidding," Colin laughed.

"Oh. Well, you still have dibs."

"Good to know," Lane laughed. "And don't worry about it, I know Rory's happy to have a friend at Yale. Sucks I can't be there with her though."

"She misses you too," Steph smiled.

Lane smiled back, then turned to the blonde guy, looking bored. "And you must be Logan."

"Rory's talked about me?" Logan asked surprised.

"Not really," Lane shrugged, siding with her friend on Logan being an ass. "Um, Colin, the CDs?"

"Right," Colin said. "I'm taking Lane to my room, just call me when we're ready," he told Logan as he led Lane to the stairs that led to the room. Once they disappeared, Steph smiled.

"I like her."

"I don't," Logan muttered.

"That's only because she doesn't like you," Steph told him, before looking at smirking Tristan.

"Colin so likes her," Tristan said with a laugh.

Logan shook his head and looked out the window to see Rory and Finn climbing the stairs to the upper deck. He just wanted to leave, dammit.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"It's so pretty out here," Rory whispered as they sat at the half circular patio table, under the cover, looking out at the ocean and the view of New Haven.

"Mhm," Finn said as he sat down next to her and pulled her to his side, kissing the top of her head. "Imagine it, at night, in the middle of the ocean, just you and the stars and the moon."

"Aw, I'm dating a poet. Never dated one of those," Rory teased, kissing him lightly. He pulled back and laughed.

"I'm excited."

"I'm glad," Rory said, leaning against his side once more and putting her feet up, tucking them underneath her.

"Not worried?"

"Should I be?" She asked looking up at him. He looked back down at her and hugged her, burying his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer.

"You have nothing to worry about," he whispered. "Nothing. I may be leaving for a year, but nothing will change."

Rory bit her lip to keep from crying. "I know."

He looked at her before kissing her lightly. Rory put her hands on either side of his face, caressing his cheeks as he kissed her softly. "Tell me to stay," he whispered.

He knew he was contradicting himself. but the more he thought about, the less he liked the idea of not being able to kiss her for a year, not being able to hold her. Not being able to just touch her cheek and have her smile up at him. In the month that they'd been dating, they'd reached the point to where he didn't think he could go the year without seeing her face to face.

"I wish I could," she whispered to him. "I wish I could tell you to stay, and get to see you everyday, but like I told you last night, you know I won't."

He laid his head on her shoulder. He was so lucky to have her trust him enough to let him go to Fiji for the year. He felt her run her fingers through his hair, resting her head on his shoulder as she held him. God, how he wished she was selfish. How he wished she would beg him to stay, telling him she couldn't go a year without him. And though he knew that all that was probably going through her at the moment, the urge to ask him, she never would.

He turned his head and kissed her neck softly, mumbling against her neck the three words that he never thought he would say to a girl. Luckily for him, she didn't hear them, or if she did, she didn't say anything.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Lane was sitting on the floor of Colin's room as he went through his stacks of CDs. She had to admit, for a rich guy he had good taste. He knew all of her obscure bands that not even Dave had known about, and Dave had been one of the biggest audiophiles she'd known. But Colin had him beat.

"Oh, this one!" Colin said, taking a CD from his rack.

"'TV on the Radio," Lane laughed, handing it back to him. "Downloaded and hidden under a floorboard."

"You're killing me here, Lane," Colin laughed, putting it back.

"Face it, Colin, anything you have, I've had for ages."

"Sinatra live in concert."

"Korean bootleg," Lane told him.

Colin sighed as he sat down next to her. "Years of me buying obscure CDs to impress the ladies and I meet the one that has them all."

Lane smiled shyly and shrugged. "I like music."

"Definitely nothing wrong with that," Colin smiled at her, then at the stack of CDs she'd brought him that he didn't have. "I'll send these back to you when Finn sends Rory a box."

"Oh, it's no problem," Lane said. "Keep them as long as you want."

"No, they're your CDs. I just want to upload them to my computer, then I'll send them back. I'll make sure of it."

Lane smiled. She'd never met a guy like him. He dressed like a rich kid and somewhat acted like an uptight jerk, like Rory had described him, but when she had talked to him in Stars Hollow, and how he'd apologized for the breakup that wasn't even his fault, and talking to him now, she couldn't help to see what Rory saw in him.

He was a total audiophile. She didn't think anyone other than his friends knew just how extensive his knowledge of bands and music was in general, the fact that his room on the yacht was covered with CDs and the fact that a lot of his DVDs that he had in boxes that he had yet to unpack were all of different bands in concerts.

"How many people know of your closet love of music?" Lane asked, looking at him.

Colin shrugged. "Probably just close friends. Finn, Logan, Tristan, Steph and Rory. And, well, now you." He turned to her. "What about you? How many know of your floorboard habits?"

Lane laughed. "Everyone except my parents, and I'm keeping it that way for as long as I can."

"Really?"

"All of Stars Hollow are co-conspirators in my floorboard plans. Once, me and Rory devised a plan for me to get a CD that I ordered. And we involved Michel and Kirk."

"The concierge and the weird guy that was working at the beauty store?"

"Yeah. Michel refuses to take part in anything that involves us anymore after that. Saying we're evil children."

"Your town is really weird."

"That's 'cause you haven't lived there. I could easily say that Hartford society is weird."

"It is," Colin agreed. "Trust me, society isn't as fun as you think it is."

"Never thought it was fun," Lane laughed. "But at least you've got good friends."

"Yeah, I guess," Colin said, still smiling at her.

She was so different. Definitely not the normal girl he usually went out with. He knew that with Lane he could talk to her about any band and she'd know it. Or if she didn't, she wouldn't shrug off his excitement, she'd be just as excited as he was. He liked it.

Taking a risk, he leaned in and kissed her softly.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Steph watched as Logan looked at his watch for the umpteenth time that hour. Looking at her own, she noticed they had five minutes until the guys left.

"Logan?" Steph called, getting his attention.

"You guys need to leave," Logan said looking at her.

"I want to talk to you before you break up what going on upstairs and down." Steph said, getting out of Tristan's embrace and walking over to the bar where Logan was leaning.

"What do you want, Steph?" Logan asked irritated.

"Leave the guys alone," Steph said. "Don't push them to do things that they don't want to do."

"What are you babbling about?" Logan asked.

"She's saying that if Colin and Finn don't want to partake in whatever plan comes into your head, don't push them to do it," Tristan said, looking over at his friend.

"They'd willingly join anyway," Logan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Maybe you haven't noticed lately," Steph said, "But you're the only bachelor on this yacht."

"What are you talking about? Last I checked, Finn was the only one with a girlfriend."

Steph scoffed. "Trust me, by the time we get off this boat, Colin will be so far gone that it won't take him long to commit to Lane."

"You're kidding, right?"

Tristan smirked. "Rory told us that they hit it off when Colin went to Stars Hollow."

Logan frowned, not even knowing that Colin had even stepped foot in the small town.

"Yeah, Colin lowered his standards and went with Finn two weeks ago. He talked to Lane and they've been talking ever since. He was the one that invited her to come today. Not Rory, Colin," Steph said. "So leave Colin alone. And the same with Finn. Just because they're not single anymore doesn't mean they're not the same guys that you've known all your life."

Logan checked his watch. "It's time to go," he muttered before going towards the stairs that led to the bedrooms. He pushed what Steph had said to the back of his mind before opening Colin's door. He watched Colin pull back from Lane and glare at Logan.

"Jeez, knock!" Colin said before standing up and going to the door. Logan blinked. Was Colin doing what Logan thought he was doing. "What do you want?"

"Time to go," Logan muttered before turning and going back up the the main saloon. He saw Steph with her arms crossed over his chest, a gloating smile crossing her lips.

"They were kissing, weren't they?"

"Shut up, Steph," Logan said as he went out the saloon and up the stairs to the top deck. He saw Finn and Rory kissing at the table. Coughing, Finn pulled away and looked over his shoulder.

"What?"

"It's two," Logan told him before turning and walking back down, Steph's words surfacing to his mind.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Colin watched Logan go back upstairs. He shook his head before closing his door and turned to see Lane looking at him wide eyed.

"You..."

Colin smirked. "I..." He prompted.

"You kissed me."

"I believe I did," Colin nodded.

"...Wha... Why?"

Colin shrugged. "'Cause I wanted to. And I like you."

"You... like... _me_?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I'm a small town Korean girl who wears glasses, goes to Seventh-day Adventist college and hides her music and band t-shirts in her closet and floorboards. And you're..."

"I'm..." Colin smirked.

"You're so far out of my league."

"I really don't think so."

"But..."

"Lane, I just wanted to kiss you," Colin said, leaning against his door. "Just to see what it felt like I guess."

"And?"

"And I liked it," Colin shrugged. "I'm not asking for a relationship. I mean I'm leaving in a few minutes, and you're here, and..."

"It wouldn't work," Lane whispered.

"Not saying that. I'm just saying, why rush into it?" He shrugged before walking over to his desk and grabbing a piece of paper. He wrote something down and handed it to her. "That's my number and my e-mail if you ever want to talk," he said. "I have a good cell plan, so you won't get charged a lot for calling. And well... e-mail, the modern world's miracle."

Lane smiled. "Maybe we should head up."

Colin nodded, not quite sure what to make of the response, but led her out of the room and back upstairs.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn watched as Logan's back disappeared down the stairs, before turning and kissing Rory again. "Not too late to beg me to stay."

"Get off," she laughed pushing him away.

"I would you know."

She looked at him and shook her head. "I'm not asking."

"You could."

"Finn!" She laughed. "If I asked you, Logan would hate me more."

"He doesn't..." Finn looked at Rory's raised eyebrow and sighed. "I hate this."

"It's not your fault he doesn't like me, Finn. It's just Logan's prerogative. I can't change it and why should I? He obviously has it set in his head that I'm the devil incarnate."

"Ah, but you're anything but," he whispered, kissing her softly.

"Come on, let's go down."

"My pleasure," he leered before Rory pushed him towards the end of the booth, her following after him. They walked down the stairs and met in the saloon, just as Lane and Colin came in too.

"So I guess this is goodbye," Steph said biting her lip before going to Colin and hugging him. "Please, don't do anything stupid. I may hate you, but you're still family."

Colin smiled and hugged his cousin. "Love you too and I promise."

"Call me if you ever need a wire," Steph said. "I'll have the money there in no time."

Colin laughed. "I think you should be talking to Finn about that. He's the one that usually gets us arrested."

"Once!" Finn said. "I did that once!"

"And boy, do I want to hear that," Rory laughed before going over to Colin as Steph let go and hugging him. "So what's the consensus?"

"I'll let Lane tell you," Colin whispered back.

Rory smiled and kissed his cheek. "Take care of him?"

"Promise," Colin nodded as Steph hugged Logan and Tristan and Lane said goodbye to Finn.

"Do you think you could talk to..."

"I'll try, but he's got it in him, Rory. I just don't know how to change his mind."

"Thanks, Colin."

"It's not a problem," he said hugging her again. "You're good for Finn and Logan's an idiot for not seeing it."

Rory squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled away and smiled, opening her eyes again. "You're a really, really good friend, Colin."

"Same goes to you, Rory."

She looked over at Logan and they gave each other a nod, knowing it wasn't any use pretending with their group, everyone knowing how they felt about the other.

Rory watched as Lane walked over to Colin and whispered to him, and Steph and Tristan went back to Logan, leaving Finn alone. Walking over to him she grabbed his hand, he looked down and led her out of the saloon, just outside the door so they could have a bit more privacy.

Leaning against the railing, he brought her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. She titled her head up as he leaned down and kissed her making sure it was different from the ones they had shared up on the top deck which had been sweet and light.

He moved one of his hands up her back, running his fingers through her hair, letting the silky coffee strands glide though his fingers. He licked her bottom lip knowing that she would open her mouth and grant him the access that he craved. She nodded, one more kiss. Just one more, for him to remember before he left.

Rory held on to him for dear life as he kissed her. He knew that not only was he trying to remember the kiss, but he was giving her something to remember too. Taking advantage of it, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling back and hugging him, biting her lip to keep from crying. He hugged her back desperately, tightening his arms around her waist and burying his face in her neck.

"Tell me not to go," he mumbled against her neck. "Please, god, give me a reason not to go."

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, a million reasons popping up in her mind.

_I'll miss you too much._

_I need you._

_I need to see your smile everyday._

_I need to feel your hand in mine._

_I need to feel your lips against mine._

_I need you to hold me._

_I'll miss you too much._

She pulled back and dug around in her jean pocket until she produced a chain.

"What is it?" Finn whispered.

"Proof for all the Fiji sluts that you have a girlfriend," she said with a watery smile as she slipped the chain around his neck. "This is my class ring. I dug it out from my jewelry box this morning."

Finn smiled, playing with the smaller, more delicate ring. The band was so much thinner than his was, it was simple and silver, with her class year on the bottom of the band and her birthstone sitting at the center.

"My name's on the inside. It just says 'Rory', my full name didn't fit."

"It's perfect," Finn said, hugging her again.

"As cute as this is..."

Finn looked up and saw Logan standing near the door. "I know, Logan."

Logan shook his head before going back inside as Stephanie, Tristan and Lane came out, followed by Colin. They left the yacht, walking them to the car.

Rory handed Finn the keys to his car, but Finn gave them back.

"No, Steph is going to give us a ride back to Stars Hollow," Rory said trying to give the keys back.

"Use the car, love," Finn said.

"What?"

"Like I told you this morning, it's just going to stay here until I come back," he shrugged. "I'll be happier knowing that it's being used and not just sitting here rusting."

"I don't feel right driving your car. What if I get pulled over or something?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll call my dad, tell him everything and he'll make sure that if you do, it's not going to cause problems. You won't get arrested for Grand Theft Auto, and if you do, my dad has good lawyers, trust me," he teased.

"Finn," Rory sighed.

"Take it. I'm not going to argue with you right now about something so silly," he told her firmly, putting the keys in her hand. "If you don't want to use it, then at least do me the favor of taking it to Yale and parking it with your car."

Rory sighed and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, now hug and kiss me goodbye and tell me you're going to miss me and my sexy body," Finn said, trying to lighten the mood.

Rory smiled weakly as she hugged him and kissed him lightly. "I am going to miss you, you know that. As for your body... it's not all that great."

"I know you're lying for the sake of not being distraught, so I'll let it slide," he said, kissing her one last time, before letting her go.

"Ready?" Colin asked, backing away from the group.

"Not really," Finn muttered, running a hand through his hair and following Colin back to the the yacht. Rory bit her lip as she leaned against the car. Steph and Lane went over to her and wrapped an arm around either of her shoulders, hugging her as she cried.

Finn climbed onto the yacht and watched as Steph and Lane circled around Rory. He knew she was crying. He knew she'd been trying hard not to cry when they'd been up talking on the top deck. He could tell by the way her lip quivered and how she bit her lip and closed her eyes shut, hiding her face in his neck so he couldn't tell.

"Those are some damn good ladies we're leaving" Colin said as he felt the yacht lurch into motion.

Finn squeezed his own eyes shut as Colin patted his shoulder. "Yeah," he choked out.

"It's hard, isn't it?"

"Feels like my heart's ripping out, mate. Not a very fun feeling."

Colin nodded getting the drift as they started out of the marina. They'd hired a captain to take them to Fiji, then they'd pay to fly him back out to the States and travel themselves. They were risk-takers, but they weren't that willing to get lost at sea.

Logan walked up to them and leaned against the railing, watching the marina fade. "Well, looks like we're starting on our year of fun."

Finn looked over at Logan with a shake of his head, before pushing off the railing. "I'll be in my room," he muttered. "Call me when we get to Fiji."

Colin smirked. Fiji was two weeks away. Knowing Finn, he would probably stay in his room till then, only coming out when nature called or he was hungry.

"What's up with him?" Logan asked.

Colin shook his head. "You really are an ass, Logan."

Logan stared after Colin as he too went downstairs to his room. "What the hell did I do?"

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey Mar, you okay?" Tristan asked as he rubbed her back.

"I've never felt this way," she whispered. "Never. I didn't think it'd hurt so bad."

"Your boyfriend just left, sweetie, you're not going to see him for a long time. I mean of course it's going to hurt. It felt that way when me and Tristan parted ways in the summer when we went back to different schools and didn't see each other for months."

"Months and a year are different, Steph," Tristan whispered. "At least we knew we'd see each other over breaks."

"Breaks!" Steph squealed.

Rory looked up, wiping her eyes, noticing the yacht was completely out of view. "What?"

"Breaks! We have a two week Spring Break!" Steph said excitedly.

Lane frowned. "I'm lost."

"Hello, I'm a McCrea, Tristan a DuGray! Rory, you're a Gilmore!"

"I know our last names, Steph! What does Spring Break and our names have to do with anything!?" Rory asked, confused.

"Rory, we can get plane tickets to Fiji. We just have to ask Colin where they'll be in April."

"What?" Rory asked.

Tristan smirked. "Yeah, I could go to Fiji for Spring Break, beats out Florida."

"Come on, Rory, do you really want to wait a year to see Finn?"

"Of course not... but..."

"Look, you don't have to say yes now, but I mean, April. Sort of cuts down the year a bit."

"Eight months," Lane told her. "It's better than 12."

"It's a single digit," Tristan put in.

Rory smiled. "Spring Break then."

Steph squealed and hugged Rory. "Spring Break!"

Tristan smiled as he saw Rory's spirits lift at the prospect of seeing Finn sooner than she had expected. She was so oblivious at times to her own feelings that he bet his entire inheritance that while Finn was already aware that he loved her, Rory was still fighting it.

The losers she'd gone out with sure did do a number on her, if she didn't want to love someone who loved her so unconditionally back.

"Come on, let's get back to school," Tristan said.

"I have to take Lane to Stars Hollow, I'll meet you back there," Rory said wiping her eyes.

"Sweetie, you don't have a car."

Rory smiled as she held up the keys to Finn's car. "Finn is letting me drive his car."

Steph gaped."Oh sweetie, Finn is so in love with you."

Rory frowned. "Why would you say that?"

Tristan smirked. "Because Finn doesn't let anyone drive his cars. Hell, I don't even get to touch the keys to his car, let alone get the privilege of sitting in the driver's seat."

"I'm sure..."

"Don't even try to argue with it, Rory," Steph smirked. "Finn doesn't even let his sister drive his car. Feel honored."

Rory smiled. "I do," she laughed. "I'll see you guys back at school."

"Bye Lane," Steph said as Tristan echoed.

"Bye guys," Lane waved as she got in the SUV, Rory getting in the driver's seat. She waited until Steph had pulled out, before pulling out herself.

Lane bit her lip, knowing Rory wanted to avoid the subject of love. She decided to leave the discussion for another time. Instead she blurted out, "Colin kissed me!"

Rory swerved before braking, "What?!" shocked by Lane's outburst.

"Colin kissed me!" Lane blurted out again, covering her mouth.

Rory looked over at her best friend with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"

Lane nodded, her mouth still covered.

"Colin... he kissed you?!"

Lane nodded again.

"Lane! Tell me more!" Rory groaned. "Oh god, I feel like I'm in 'Grease'."

Lane smiled as she uncovered her mouth and she told Rory everything that had transpired in Colin's room.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory drove down the Hartford streets in Finn's car. She had to admit, this car was definitely more comfortable than the car her grandparents had given her. Of course she wasn't going to tell them or even drive his car to her grandparents' house again. The only reason why she was driving the car now was because... okay so she didn't really have a reason other than it still smelt like him and she was missing him horribly.

He'd only been gone five hours and she already felt different without him there. On the ride back from New Haven to Stars Hollow, Lane had told her everything that had gone on in Colin's room that led up to the kiss. Rory gave it till the end of the month for Colin to make it official with her best friend.

Then Rory had filled her in on the going-ons at Yale, including all of what had happened with her grandmother sneaking into her room and buying her furniture. She was forever grateful her friend hadn't pushed the love subject.

As much as she liked Finn, she still wasn't ready to admit, that she'd fallen in love with him over such a short time. Hell, they'd only been dating roughly a month. And yet here she was, ready to tell him. She'd been dying to tell him before he left. But it just seemed too soon and she didn't know if he felt the same way.

Shaking her head out, free of thought, she took a sip of her coffee as she parked behind her mother's Jeep. She'd been thinking of it the entire time she'd been getting ready for dinner and half the trip to Hartford. She, Rory Gilmore, was going to stand up to her grandmother and tell her to butt out!

She got out of the car with her coffee, and shut the door, locking it and putting the keys in her purse.

"Nice car," Lorelai greeted as she pushed off the car.

"I decided I'm going to do it."

"Do what?" Lorelai asked confused, knowing they weren't talking about the car anymore.

"I'm going to go in there," Rory said pointing to the house. "And I'm going to tell grandma that she's going to butt out of my life!"

Lorelai raised any eyebrow. "Mmhmm." She leaned forward, "Can I..." She sniffed Rory's coffee, causing Rory to pull the liquid away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just checking," Lorelai said straightening. "So you have soberly decided to confront my mother?"

"Yes," Rory said nodding the affirmative.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lorelai asked, not sure it was a good idea. If Rory did go through with this, it had a ninety nine point nine percent chance it would blow up in her face.

"Yes," Rory said keeping her stance.

"All right," Lorelai sighed. "Then I support you one hundred percent."

"Thank you," Rory smiled as they walked towards the door.

"Just make sure you wait for the right moment."

Rory looked at her mother in disbelief. "Oh, the right moment is now. The right moment arrived in a big pink hat full of feathers screaming 'notice me because I am here!'"

"Well, if it was wearing a hat..." Lorelai trailed off as she rang the doorbell. The door opened to reveal Emily Gilmore.

"There they are," Emily greeted.

"Hi, mom," Lorelai greeted as they walked in, taking off their coats.

"I tell you, this day has been an absolute circus. I misplaced every single thing I needed - my grocery list, my ticket for the shoe repair. It was a nightmare." She walked over to the bar. "What will you girls have?"

"Wait for the moment, wait for the moment," Lorelai muttered to Rory as she took a seat.

"Grandma, I have to talk to you about something," Rory told her, making a quick list of things she was going to tell her grandmother and making sure she had valid points to back them.

"Yes, Rory, what is it?" Emily asked looking at Rory. Rory froze opening her mouth and feeling all the thoughts disappear. Her eyes widened a tad, not sure if she could do it anymore. This was Emily Gilmore, queen of guilt, after all. Thankfully her grandfather walked into the room at the precise moment she was going to back out, saving her the embarrassment, and ridicule her mom was sure to serve her.

"I have an announcement," Richard said happily. "I am going into business with Jason Stiles."

Lorelai frowned and tilted her head back to look at her dad. "Who?"

"You've met him. The Stiles boy," Richard said, knowing that Lorelai would have known him as a girl.

"Oh," Lorelai said as clearly the thought of who they were talking about came to her mind. "Digger."

"Nobody's called him Digger in years, Lorelai," Richard frowned ."And yes, I just got off the phone. We're going to get together later and hash out the details," he said proudly.

"Richard, that is wonderful," Emily said happily, knowing that good would come out of Richard talking to the young man.

"I didn't know you were looking for a partner, dad," Lorelai said.

"He wasn't," Emily told her. "Jason came to him."

"That's right," Richard nodded. "He said he wanted to strike out on his own, he wanted to work with the best and he wanted to screw over his father."

"What?" Lorelai asked shocked.

"Oh, excuse me, Rory," Richard said as Rory gave a small smile and sat next to her mom.

"You never told me about this," Emily accused.

"Well, I was a bit surprised at the beginning, but I have to admit that when he told me that part of his motive was revenge, I was intrigued. No, I was tickled," he laughed. "I thought it was wonderful. What a wonderful world we live in that the son of my enemy hates his father and that I benefit from it all." He paused and gave a mischievous smile, that one could see on a young boy up to something. "It's downright Elizabethan."

"I don't think this is funny, Richard."

"No, no, I suppose not. However, I can't stop smiling." To prove it, his smile grew bigger.

"I don't think you should go into business with this boy," Emily said changing her stance on Jason.

"Oh now, Emily," Richard chided.

"He's obviously very troubled," Emily argued. "You certainly don't need to hand over your business to a troubled youth."

"He's 37 years old, Emily."

"Yes, he's 37 years old, and all he can think about is how to get back at his father. I just don't understand that kind of thinking," Emily said, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. And anyway, she could talk her husband out of it.

"Well, you know Floyd," Richard said, talking of Jason's father, "Is a horrible man."

"He _is_ the boy's father. He raised him. He clothed him. He fed him. He does not deserve to be paid back for all of his love and devotion like this," Emily said, getting more troubled by the second.

"Why are you getting so upset?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Oh Emily, be reasonable."

"I never liked that Digger in the first place," Emily said shaking her finger at him. as she left the sitting room.

"Oh Emily, come back here," Richard called following her.

Lorelai turned to Rory, "Bwak bwaaaak bwak," she clucked, sounding like a chicken.

Rory glared. "It wasn't the right moment," she defended.

"Bwak bwawaaaak bwak."

"I was about to when grandpa came in. He interrupted and now grandma's mad, so I'm sorry if it seems to you like I chickened out, but I didn't and now it's just gonna have to wait."

Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm... Bwak bwwwak Bwak!"

Rory rolled her eyes as she heard her phone vibrate. "You know, I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Bwak!"

Rory rolled her eyes again as she took out the cell phone and flipped it open, finding one new text message. Opening it, she smiled sadly when she saw it was from Finn. Four simple words had her biting her lip from crying.

_**I Miss You Already.**_

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

**_AN:_** This chapter took me forever to write, solely 'cause I wanted to write the goodbye scene well and I'm hoping I pulled it off. But I wrote it and finished it at 3:37 am! and it's 72 pages long! God, that's a lot even for me. But I know that a lot of the future chapters will range this size. I just hope to get them out quickly.

I hope you enjoyed! And I hope that the 72 pages was worth the wait. And I would like to say now that if convos sound eerily familiar it's because they do NOT belong to me, but to ASP. I use a lot of the transcripts for the story and try my best to add the twist. Hope I did that right to.

Next chapter... in the works lol.

Kassandra!


	14. Crouch and Follow

_**Part 14: Crouch and Follow**_

"Please tell me you're kidding!" He begged as she laughed. "Tell me it isn't so!"

"It is," she nodded as she shouldered the bags and waved goodbye to Stephanie and Tristan who were sitting on the couch watching movies.

"You know this is cruel, right?! I can't see you, therefore you're teasing me."

Rory laughed as she pulled the door shut and walked towards the car. "I'm being dead serious."

"I don't believe it," Finn told her over the phone.

Rory shook her head as she dug the keys out of her pocket. "Well, believe it."

"You did not cut your hair!"

Rory laughed as she unlocked Finn's SUV and put her bags in the back seat of the car. She'd meant to take it to his father's house in Hartford, but every time she got in to leave it, she was still able to catch a whiff of her boyfriend's scent that lingered on the interior.

She wasn't quite ready to give it up yet and Ronald had already given her the okay to keep it until she was ready. Surprisingly she hadn't felt the guilt in keeping the car, just happiness that she was able to hold on to one more part of Finn.

She got in starting the car and put him on speaker phone while placing the phone on the holder, so that she could talk to Finn while driving.

"I did," Rory said as she pulled out of the Yale parking lot carefully. While she was grateful to keep a part of Finn, she still didn't want to return it completely totaled. Tristan reminded her everyday that Finn never let anyone drive his cars.

"Damnmit! Of all the things you've decided to change while I'm not there."

"Cutting my hair was on the list to do before coming to Yale," Rory told him. "I was just so rushed to get things for the dorm, then with classes starting that I didn't get the chance to."

"Until I left apparently," he said, a teasing bitterness lacing his voice.

"It had nothing to do with your leaving."

"So now that I'm gone, I have no room in your life."

Rory rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "I never said that, Finn."

Finn was silent as Rory drove down the highway towards her mom's house. He had left two weeks ago and was now on Fiji, with Colin and Logan. Due to her busy schedule and the fact that, when in the middle of the Pacific, he couldn't get cell reception, they hadn't talked in two weeks.

They had only been able to converse through daily e-mails that would span pages. She'd been too busy studying and writing papers to sit down and have a video conversation with him, so she hadn't been able to see him either. This was the first real voice conversation they had had in the two weeks since he'd been gone.

"How short?" He asked breaking the silence.

"Um," Rory touched the tips of her hair that now brushed her shoulders, "I'd rather not tell you."

"Love, how short is it? How much hair did that devil of a hairdresser hack off my girlfriend's head?"

"A few inches."

"INCHES?!"

"It goes to my shoulders."

"But-"

"You'll like it," Rory cut him off.

"And if I don't?"

Rory hesitated before saying. "Well, it'll have grown by the time you see me again."

Finn stayed silent as if contemplating, She heard a sigh. "If you say so."

Rory rolled her eyes. "It's not that much," she said. "Trust me."

"Fine."

"So what have you been up to since... well, yesterday."

"Nothing really, we just got here a few hours ago," Finn told her. "I've only stepped off the yacht once, to get more supplies and when I got back on, Logan had already found girls for the evening."

"Girls as in plural?"

"Yep," Finn said. "Apparently two for each of us."

Rory rolled her eyes, not feeling jealous, just a hint of annoyance. She trusted Finn, and by the sound of his voice he sounded just as annoyed by the action as she was. "Idiot," she muttered.

"He hasn't gotten it in his head that I've committed and Colin is about to."

"About to, huh?"

Finn laughed. "He's been waiting for the right moment. He doesn't feel right asking something like that over the phone or over an e-mail. But then again, with him where he is, and her where she is, there is no other way."

"It's cute," Rory laughed.

"It's amusing is what it is."

"You're awful, Finn!" Rory told him shaking her head as he laughed.

"It's fun to watch him talking to Lane, trying to work up the nerve to ask her, but that girl can talk, and when she starts, she won't stop. Reminds me of someone else I know."

"I don't talk that much!" Rory protested.

"Who said I was talking about you? You call me egotistical, but look at you, thinking that the world revolves around you."

Rory rolled her eyes. "So what happens?"

Finn laughed, "He hangs up, gives this low growl and vows that next time they talk, he will ask her."

"I'll talk to Lane and tell her to shut up long enough for him to talk," Rory told him, taking the exit to Stars Hollow.

"So, enough about me. What about you, love, what are you up to this weekend?"

"Nothing," she said happily.

"What? You have to have something planned."

Rory laughed. "I have no clean clothes... or quarters, so I'm going home for the weekend. I plan on doing laundry and hanging out in town doing nothing. I have no papers to write, no tests to study for, I'm just going to read and hang."

"Tristan and Steph kicked you out of the dorm, didn't they?"

Rory sighed. "That too."

Finn laughed "Well, at least you'll spend time with your mum."

"Yeah, I've missed her," Rory admitted. "But I've missed you more. At least I have the possibility of seeing my mom everyday, you..."

"You're making me feel guilty, love," Finn told her quietly.

Rory shook her head, but remembering that he couldn't see her, voiced her statement. "No, I didn't mean to do that." She parked the car in front of the house and sighed. "I don't want you to feel guilty, because you have nothing to feel guilty about. I miss you, that's no secret, but I'm dealing with it. Got to say though, it's good to hear your voice."

"Good to hear yours too. You going to be online tonight?"

"Probably late. Going to let mom feed me, start a load of laundry, and then get on, why?"

"Thought we could use those cameras tonight."

"You sure Logan won't mind?"

"I couldn't care less. Plus those girls seemed to keep him pretty entertained. Colin and I need to go run a few errands and we're going to wander around. I'm starting to feel restless just staying on the yacht. So I'll be on later."

"Go have fun, Finn. Mom and I will probably have an impromptu movie night. You and Colin go wander around Fiji, we'll talk later."

"Can't wait. Hopefully we'll catch each other."

"I have a feeling we will," Rory laughed. "Now go."

"Going. Have fun, love."

"You too," Rory said before hearing him hang up and hanging up herself. She grabbed the phone from its holder, slid out of the car and put it in her back pocket before closing the door and moving to the back to get her bags of laundry. Hoisting it on onto her shoulder and carrying the other, she closed the back door and walked towards the porch, stopping to look at the house.

With a sigh and a smile she walked the steps to the porch and opened the door. While her ears would usually be assaulted by her mother welcoming her home, this time a piercing alarm filled in for the noise. Dropping the bags she winced and went around the corner in time to see her mother flying down the stairs.

"Oh crap!" She said punching numbers on a small square device that was now located on their wall.

"What's going on?" Rory asked loudly over the alarm. "Is it the smoke detector? Are we on fire?"

"No!" Her mother said just as loudly. "It's not the smoke detector, it's the alarm!"

"What alarm?" Rory asked bewildered.

"Our alarm."

"We don't have an alarm," Rory reminded.

"Well then, we have really angry rats," Lorelai said sarcastically turning towards Rory and frowned. "Did you cut your hair?"

"I just trimmed it," she defended.

"You didn't tell me you were cutting your hair." Lorelei accused.

Rory sighed. Was she really about to have the same conversation? "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," she said wanting to explain the entire situation of cutting her hair when she wasn't hearing a piercing ringing in her ears.

"A spur-of-the-moment, 'let's not tell my mother I'm pulling a G.I. Jane'?"

Rory frowned and pointed to the ceiling. "Are we seriously going to have this conversation now? During the air-raid?"

"You're right. Come on," Lorelai said putting a hand on Rory's back and leading her across the room.

"What are we doing?" Rory asked as they stood in the corner.

"I figured out that there is a motion detector and if you stand over here, it can't see you and calms down."

"Great, so what now?"

"We wait?" Lorelai shrugged. "So why didn't you tell me you were getting your hair cut?"

"It's just a trim," Rory sighed.

"To the Braille institute, it's just a trim."

"Do you like it?" Rory asked, not sure of it herself now. If her mom didn't like it, what would Finn think of it? He didn't seem too fond of the idea over the phone.

"Will you put it back if I don't?"

"Mom!" Rory said wanting a serious answer.

"Yes, I like it," Lorelai laughed

"Thank you," Rory smiled just as the alarm stopped. "Oh thank god."

"Feels good when it's over, huh?" Lorelai said relaxing.

"This is crazy. When did we get an alarm?"

"Well," Lorelai began, "Apparently, Kirk..."

"Oh no," Rory groaned, knowing that any story that began with Kirk was not good in the least.

"...has recently joined the Stars Hollow Security Company."

"Oh no," Rory said not liking the sound of that.

"And apparently, now that I'm the pretty spinster living all alone, he's concerned for my safety."

"Did he tell you all this?"

"Do you think I labeled myself the pretty spinster?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.

"What did you say?" Rory asked, wanting to redirect the conversation.

"I haven't talked to him face-to-face. I came home to this, and there was a note and his card and his _gun_."

"Oh jeez!" Rory exclaimed, not sure what idiot would ever give Kirk a gun.

"Yeah, and then when I called the alarm-response center to complain about the alarm, no one answered. I had to leave a message with Meg... she sweeps up." Lorelai said, the frustration lacing her voice.

"I can't even believe there's a security company in Stars Hollow. Nothing ever happens here."

"Oh, that's not true," Lorelai corrected. "Plenty happens here."

"Like what?" Rory asked, not quite believing anything big happened in the town.

"Like, people now break into your houses and install alarm systems!" She said shaking her head.

"I heard about that," Rory muttered with a nod.

"_And_ we have a new mail carrier."

"We do?" Rory asked, wondering what happened to Jimmy, their old, reliable mail carrier.

"Yeah, so now if you wanna get your mail, you just have to go see Miss Patty."

"Why?"

"'Cause that's where he brings it. He brings Babbette's mail to Andrew's, Norma's mail to the deli, and Taylor still hasn't found his mail, which I have to admit is kind of fun," Lorelai said amused, mischief etched all over her face. Rory had no doubt that they were the ones receiving Taylor's mail and her mother was the one withholding it from him.

"I rescind my previous statement. This place is hopping," Rory said dryly, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

"So, did you eat yet?" Lorelai asked changing the topic.

"Nope. I thought I'd let you feed me."

"Sure, I can feed you, but I can't know if you're getting your hair cut," she said, pouring on the guilt.

Rory sighed. "I will never do anything again without telling you... happy?"

"I don't know. I finding this whole guilt thing rather satisfying." She watched as Rory shook her head again and started moving away form the corner. "No, NO! Where are you going?" Just as Rory moved away from the safety of the corner, she paused as the alarm started to fill the air again. "AGH! Why did you do that!?"

"I was going to get my laundry!" Rory said closing her eyes, not believing that she'd forgotten.

"You made it mad!" Lorelai accused.

"I didn't mean to!"

"Back in the corner. back in the corner!" Lorelai said, pulling her back in.

"Oh," Rory groaned, covering her ears.

Her mom leaned in and smiled. "No place like home huh?"

"Yeah," Rory groaned, not quite sure why she'd left her dorm. Stephanie and Tristan she could deal with, but this? Well, it was good to be home.

"So did you talk to the Aussie today?" Lorelai asked, picking up the conversation again seeing as they had another five minutes before the alarm went off.

"Yeah," Rory nodded smiling again.

"And did you tell him about the hair?"

Rory sighed. "Yeah."

"And?"

"And I don't think he's too fond of the idea that I got a haircut. But I told him the next time he saw me it would be long again, so I think that placated him. He's on Fiji."

"He loving it?"

"He's been there before," Rory said, thinking about the last e-mail he sent, how he'd been describing the sites he'd seen from the boat… and how he'd wish she'd been there. "But he says it's a completely different experience sailing to Fiji from flying over it. He's definitely in his element."

"You miss him."

"Well, that's obvious," Rory rolled her eyes. "And a bit jealous."

"That he gets to ditch for a year to travel and you're stuck studying?"

"What? No! Not of Finn. Of Steph and Tristan. It's stupid," she muttered.

"No, tell me, why are you jealous of the blondes?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know. Just…"

Lorelai laughed as she saw a light tint of pink fill Rory's cheeks. "You want to make out."

Rory blushed. "Is that normal?" She laughed and touched her cheeks as they warmed. "I've never…" she shook her head. "Jeez, I can't believe I'm talking to you about this."

The alarm shut off and Lorelai sighed. "Follow me and you're telling me everything." Crouching down low, she walked slowly under the laser, Rory watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" Rory asked.

"Crouch and follow."

Rory sighed, crouched and followed. God, she loved coming home. Once they made it outdoor without setting off the alarm, Lorelei snapped her fingers.

"Shoot, forgot my wallet."

Rory laughed. "Since when do we pay Luke?"

"True," Lorelai nodded as they started their walk. "So my little girl wants to make out?"

Rory blushed again and sighed. "It's weird, you know. I never felt an overwhelming need to make out with Dean, and with Jess… I don't' know, I guess we just had that down. Finn and me, we hadn't really gotten to that "locked at the lips" stage. When he left, we were barely on the "just need to be touching" stage, you know."

"Some sort of psychical contact, yeah, I know," Lorelai sighed wistfully.

"So every time I open the bedroom door and walk in on Steph and Tristan making out, I feel…"

"Left out?"

Rory scrunched up her nose. "When you say it like that, it sounds like I want to join in a threesome with them."

Lorelai laughed. "You know what I mean." She opened the door letting Rory in first. They sat at an empty table, Rory across from her mother.

"I just really miss him, you know?"

"I hear you guys are planning a Spring Break trip down there."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, we're not telling them though, keeping it a surprise."

"He'll love that."

"I'll love that," Rory laughed as Luke came to their table.

"Hey Rory," Luke smiled. "What's new?"

"She wants to make out," Lorelai said loudly, causing Rory to blush and glare and even Luke to turn a little pink.

"How about I just grab your regulars?"

"That would be good," Rory muttered as he walked away. Once he was out of earshot she turned and glared at Lorelai. "Mom!"

"What can I say, kid, I miss you too."

Rory shook her head. Yeah, it was good to be home.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn hung up the phone putting it in his pocket and walked out of his room to see Colin doing the same, pocketing his own phone.

"Just called Lane, huh?" Finn smiled as Colin smiled back.

"Yeah, they're having trouble finding a guitarist. They're spending all week auditioning people."

"Still didn't ask her, huh?"

"Her mom was home," Colin sighed. "It wasn't right."

"Of course," Finn nodded, keeping in his laughter. "I was about to go land, grab some food."

"Restless?

Finn nodded. "I need to walk around, leave the yacht and just breathe."

"Sounds good to me," Colin nodded. "Not really in the mood to deal with Logan's orgies right now."

Finn laughed as they climbed the steps. "Never knew Logan was that type of man."

"We're on Fiji, Finn, anything can happen with Logan," Colin told him as they reached the saloon, They saw a few members of the opposite sex talking, while Logan sat on the couch, talking to two blondes, both of which were fighting subtly to get his utmost attention.

"Boys," Logan greeted. Finn and Colin nodded to him. "There are enough girls to go around."

Colin rolled his eyes. "Finn and I are going to go get some food, walk around a bit. We also have some errands to run."

"Errands?" Logan asked with a frown.

"There are a few things we're missing, but weren't important for the trip. We're going to go get them before we forget," Finn explained.

"All right. If you're sure…" Logan trailed off.

"We're sure, mate. We'll be back later," Finn said starting to make his way to the door.

Colin started walking after him, but turned back. "You want us to grab you something to eat? We've been eating boat food for the last two weeks."

"Nah. I've got my breakfast, lunch and dinner right here." Logan grinned eyeing the women on the boat.

Colin sighed. "Right. Later."

"Later," Logan said watching Colin leave. A few of the girls tried to stop him by catching his attention. He would stop momentarily, smile and say something, causing the girls to back off before he left the saloon entirely. Finn though hadn't even looked at any of the girls vying for his attention. He'd simply left. He really wondered how long it would take to get the old Finn back instead of that pod person.

Finn wandered around the streets, feeling Colin jog to his side, and follow him. "Logan's being an ass," Colin stated, causing Finn to scoff.

"That's different from any other day because?"

Colin sighed. "I don't think he'll ever get used to us having girlfriends, Finn. And I don't want what he says to you, or about Rory, to get to you."

Finn couldn't help but smile at his friend. No matter the problem, even it if involved him, Colin always played mediator, wanting to see the best in the situation and for everyone to get along.

Instead of telling Colin not to worry about it, he sighed and shrugged, deciding to voice his opinions. "I don't care what he says about me, Colin. I really couldn't care less, but I don't like it when he brings Rory into the conversation. Rory isn't the reason I'm changing, she isn't the reason I'm not drinking as heavily any more. But she made me think about changing."

"What's the difference?" Colin asked, not sure where he was getting at.

Finn sighed. "She never said, 'Finn, stop drinking' or 'Finn, stop sleeping around', but I saw her, and I just... wanted to change. She knows I drink and doesn't say anything, but there's a look in her eyes that just shows that she worries about me when I do drink heavily. I saw it in her eyes on the Vineyard when she and Steph would nurse us back to health. And I don't like that I make her worry, but she never made me change. I decided it for myself."

"You still drink," Colin pointed out as they stopped in front of a restaurant and getting in line to wait for a table.

"Not in excess like I used to," Finn said. "And I've gone days without drinking, whereas before Rory I always had at least one in me."

"Why the sudden change though? If Rory isn't forcing you, why the drastic 360?"

Finn thought about it for a moment trying to find the words to answer. "It was the thought of Rory going to Yale and telling them that Finn Rothschild was her boyfriend, and then connecting it with the drunk Australian. That thought really bugged me, and I didn't want to prove them right or have her thinking that. I wanted her to tell them all that I'm not the guy everyone thinks I am."

"And you're not," Colin told him. "You never were, Finn."

"Well, you and Rory know that," Finn said as they were seated and handed the menus. "But Logan has still got it stuck in his thick skull that I am that guy, no matter what I do to change."

Colin shrugged. "Just keep proving him wrong, and he'll get it."

Finn glared at his menu. "I don't have shit to prove to Logan, Colin. I'm not sobering up and changing for him. It's for myself and my health. Not Rory, not Logan. Me."

"I get that, Finn," Colin said. "But I know you, Finn, you take everything very personally. Just don't let Logan get to you."

Finn winced. He did have a bit of a temper when it came to people badmouthing his loved ones. Didn't matter what was said about him, he could defend himself, but when it was a loved one, he took it very personally.

He winced again, which he had done after the Logan/Rory confrontation two weeks ago. Time to tell Colin. "I told Logan that if he says anything bad about Rory, I'm leaving."

Colin sighed. "Finn."

"No, he can talk about me and the fact that I've committed all he wants, but he leaves Rory out of it. He mentions one bad thing about Rory and I'm gone. No second thoughts and no regrets."

"How does Rory feel about it?" Colin asked, just as the waiter came to take their orders. They gave the orders and once the waiter walked away, Finn shrugged running a hand through his hair. "She doesn't know, and she won't."

"She won't want you pulling out of this trip because of her, Finn. You know that."

Finn shrugged. "She won't know."

"She'll know and she'll be pissed."

"Can we change the subject now?" Finn pleaded, not wanting to continue the conversation of Rory being pissed at him. So far he hadn't done anything to get on her bad side, and he wanted to keep it that way for a good while.

"How's Rory?"

Finn smiled, always willing to talk about his girlfriend. "She's fine, hanging in Stars Hollow for the weekend, visiting Lorelai."

"How is Lorelai?" Colin smirked, remembering the young mother the time he'd gone to Stars Hollow.

"As far as I know, fine," Finn laughed.

"So what are they doing this weekend?"

Finn shrugged. "Rory plans on having a relaxing Stars Hollow weekend, just reading, probably hang out with Lane. Though with band auditions..."

Colin shrugged. "They'll get together."

Finn nodded. "So what are we doing after this?"

Colin drank from his water glass and thought. "You wanted to set up that P.O. box for you and Rory."

Finn nodded. "Since this will be base, I want to set it up here. That way she can send things if she wants here."

Colin nodded in agreement. Since they needed to stay in current correspondence with parents, and most times would need some type of wire at one point during any of their trips, one of them always made a P.O. Box. They planned on sailing during the day, to the different little towns of Fiji and islands, coming back to Taveuni as their base to check mail and get a room when the crowded space of the boat was getting to them.

"We'll get that taken care of, then I'll send out the address to our parents and friends."

Finn nodded. "Good plan." They both thanked the waiter when their food came and dug in, enjoying the restaurant food rather than canned food that they kept on the yacht.

"We have to get more food too," Finn said. "Now that we know what's perishable and not."

"You know, you'd think that with us on the boat, it wouldn't matter if it were perishable," Colin said.

"The bananas proved us wrong," Finn laughed. About a week in the ocean, they'd overseen the bananas that they kept in the kitchen. Since no one in their group liked them all that much, no one had eaten them. The boat now smelled like rotten bananas since they had been exposed in the sun.

Colin shook his head. "So food shopping too. I, for one, am sick of Campbell's Chicken Noddle soup.

"Mm mm good," Finn laughed, causing Colin to roll his eyes. "We'll get food that wouldn't go bad and stink up the yacht."

"Good deal."

They ate their meal in relative silence, each lost in his own thoughts, before paying and leaving the restaurant. By two, they were at the small grocery shop, picking out food when Finn felt his phone vibrate. Taking it out, he saw that he had on new text. Opening it up, while Colin compared cantaloupes, he read the message.

_**From: Princess Rory**_

_**To: Finn**_

He smirked. She'd been playing with his phone, changing the names. Well, he'd played with hers too.

_**Going to watch movies with Mom, should be done by one. I may skip out a movie early to meet you online.**_

Finn hit reply, pushing the cart behind Colin as they moved down the aisle.

_**I'll try and get on. We're food shopping and should be done in about an hour or two. Can't wait to see that infamous hair. **_

He kept the phone in his hand as Colin put in some vegetables in the cart. Luckily, they'd all had the foresight to take cooking lessons in high school and all knew how to cook though they rarely did. Finn did it to help him get out frustration, there was something in cutting a carrot with a razor sharp knife that just helped to soothe him.

His phone vibrated in his hand. Flipping it open he read her response.

_**Stop exaggerating! It's not that bad!! And don't rush because of me. I plan on staying up late anyway. See you then! g2g, mom is threatening to take my phone away if I keep texting!**_

Laughing he pocketed the phone, not bothering to bid her goodbye. He'd talk to her in a few hours. After he and Colin finished with the groceries and paid, they walked to the even smaller post office and grabbed an application for a P.O. box, and went back to the yacht.

He noticed that the girls had vacated and Logan was sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Where are the girls?" Colin asked, sitting on the couch next to him while Finn went to grab a drink from the bar.

Logan shrugged. "Left."

"Did you get any?" Colin asked.

Logan nodded, but continued to stare at the TV. Finn rolled his eyes. "I'll be in my room if you two need me."

Logan looked over at him with a frown. "You're going to your room?"

Finn nodded, knowing he was probably making a mistake if he told Logan, but did it anyway. "Rory and I want to test out the video cameras we got."

"Rory," Logan nodded.

"You got a problem, mate?"

"Finn," Colin warned. "You told Logan what you wanted to say, now you're just baiting him."

"Yeah, listen to Colin," Logan muttered.

Finn shook his head. "Call if you need me." He went downstairs to his room, ignoring Logan's muttering and closed the door. He loaded his laptop and noticing the clock, he saw that it was nearing six. Sighing, he did the quick math in his head, calculating the time difference, coming up that it was nearly two in the morning there.

Taking his chances he logged onto his messenger and sat down at his chair, getting comfortable, surprised to see Rory on. Clicking on her name he started the conversation.

**Exoticboy57:Let's see that hair, love.**

_CoffeeprincessSH_: Oh jeez, not this again.

**Exoticboy57:Yes this, now let's see it.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _-sigh- Fine, just letting you know that I don't have my earpiece though. We're going to have to talk this way_._

**Exoticboy57: That's fine, now let me see your hair!**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Wait! Jeez_._

Laughing he moved the camera over and made sure he was in frame before accepting the invitation to start the video feed. A few seconds later Rory came into focus and he smiled at her image. He hair was a bit shorter, going to just about the tips of her ears.

**Exotic boy57_: _That's a lot of hair missing, love.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _My mom likes it.

_**Exotic boy57: **_**Your mom's not your boyfriend.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _So you don't like it?

**Exotic boy57:_ N_ever said that.**

_CoffeeprincessSH:_Then you like it?

**Exotic boy57:-shrug-**

_CoffeeprincessSH**: **_Gee, that helps.

**Exotic boy57:I like it, just liked your long hair better.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _I think I look a bit older with short hair.

**Exotic boy57: I liked your young look.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _You just don't like it because you weren't there when I cut it, lol.

**Exotic boy57:-sigh- Fine, you got me. It just bugs me that you cut it after I left.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Finn, like I told my mom, cutting my hair was something I've wanted to do.

**Exotic boy57:Then why do it after I leave?**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Because I didn't have time when I was starting school. Last week, during our free time, I went shopping with Steph, we stopped by a salon, we got our nails done, and she was going to get a trim when I just… cut my hair.

**Exotic boy57: I'm going to kill Steph. **

_CoffeeprincessSH: _You'll like it when you see it up close. Plus it'll grow out!

**Exotic boy57:I know… So how was movie night?**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Good, Mom fell asleep during 'Hardbodies'

**Exotic boy57:How could she fall asleep during that!**

_CoffeeprincessSH:_-shrug- Think she was tired. But I finished it, then came and changed and waited for you.

**Exotic boy57:You read too, didn't you?**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _A chapter or two… maybe. How was food shopping with Colin?

He watched as she looked over her shoulder quickly, then back at the computer screen. Her movements a bit choppy, thanks to the delay.

**Exotic boy57:As good as shopping can be. Dinner was good though. Colin has a feeling that he may ask Lane soon. **

_CoffeeprincessSH: _I'm going to visit Lane tomorrow. I'll remember to remind her to be quiet.

**Exotic boy57_: _Good thinking.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _And Logan?

**Exotic boy57: Why?**

_CoffeeprincessSH:_Just wanted to know how the blonde is.

**Exotic boy57:Lol, the blonde is fine, he got laid, so he'll be in a better mood then…**

Finn looked over at his door when he heard it open, and saw Logan standing at the entrance.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to land for a few hours."

"All right."

"Colin has the number where he can reach me."

"Aren't you taking the cell phone?"

Logan shrugged. "Don't quite feel up to carrying it."

"You don't feel like carrying a small device in your pocket, so we can contact you, wow, that's just full of logic."

"Like I said, Colin has the number where he can reach me. I'll be back before we set sail tomorrow."

"Fine, don't see why you came to tell me this."

Logan scoffed. "Forgive me if I thought my best friend wanted to know where I was."

Finn shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow." He turned back the the computer as he heard Logan close the door behind him.

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Finn?

**Exotic boy57: I'm here, had to talk to Logan.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Oh, what'd he want?

**Exotic boy57: Let me know he's going on land for the night. BTW I'm setting up a P.O box here.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Here? Here where?"

**Exotic boy57: Taveuni here in Fiji, it's our base. Every few weeks, we're coming back here when we feel the need to have a nice bed or food other than the food we have on the boat. Just in case you wanted to send something,**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Cool, what is it?

**Exotic boy57: Going to set it up tomorrow so I'll send you the address once I get it.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Very cool. Hey I'm going to get going, starting to get sleepy.

Fin noted the time and saw that it was nearing seven his time, meaning it was almost three hers.

**Exotic boy57: Go, love, didn't realize it was so late.**

He watched her yawn on the screen and smiled.

_CoffeeprincessSH:_ Hmm, okay, I'll talk to you soon.

**Exotic boy57: I'll call tomorrow.**

_CoffeeprincessSH: _Sounds good, night.

**Exotic boy57: Night love.**

_CoffeeprincessSH has signed off of 3:01 am._

Signing off himself, he checked his mail quickly before deciding to go back up and see what Colin was up to.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

_**A.N.:**_

I know it's shorter than the other chapters, but my friend and I got to talking and she convinced me to cut the chapter I had up…and that way you all get it sooner. So I'm cutting the 'Chicken or Beef' eppy up in maybe three parts. That way I'm not as overwhelmed with trying to get 70 some pages out, and you're not overwhelmed by the dialogue of the transcript.

Hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Going to go see where I can cut it.

Hope you enjoyed some Finn and Rory!

Kassandra


	15. Kicked Off

_**Part 15: Kicked Off**_

Rory had finished getting ready and smiled at her reflection as she fixed her short hair behind her ears. She knew that Finn had just been teasing her last night about not liking her hair. She hoped. Frowning she shook her head and opened her door, slightly confused when she saw a trail of Post-Its in front of her door leading towards the living room.

"Mom?"

"Follow the Post-Its!" Lorelai called. Rory frowned as she carefully stepped on the yellow pieces of paper finding her mom crouching down, putting more on the floor.

"Does our life seem at all ridiculous to you?" Rory asked, knowing her mother wouldn't respond.

"I spent all morning carefully tracking that motion detector," Lorelai said, sounding proud of herself.

"What an excellent use of your time, ignore the fact that we have a mountain of dishes in the sink that need to be washed or crap from last night littering the tables. But, of course, a Post-It path is the first thing on your to-do list." Rory rolled her eyes as Lorelai turned.

"You're very quippy this morning, and as long as we stay on the path, we're good."

Rory smirked. "So I should follow the yellow stick road?"

Lorelai gave a fake laugh. "We'll be here all week, try the veal." She looked over her shoulder at her daughter. "Stop."

Rory halted. "What?"

"Read."

Rory looked down at the Post-It in front of her and read. "'Crouch down and hop'." She looked at her mother in disbelief. "Oh come on!"

"The motion-detector beam at the top of the staircase dips very low over there"

Rory glared. "You seriously want me to crouch down and hop?"

Lorelai smiled wickedly. "Like a little hunchbacked bunny."

Rory sighed as she crouched down and hopped from one Post-It to another. "You know, I had decided that if I ever went to therapy, I was gonna leave you out of it, but now…" Rory said hopping down the trail.

"Okay, you can stand up," Lorelai said, standing and bringing Rory with her.

"Did you at least call that stupid security company again?" Rory asked grabbing her book bag from the couch.

"Yes, Meg sends her love." Rory glared. "Don't worry, I'll stop on my way to the inn. Now, what are your plans today, Persis Khambatta?"

"Well, today I'm going to do nothing but hang out in town, read, veg, drink coffee and have the perfect Stars Hollow day." She pulled the book bag over her shoulder and smiled.

"Look out," Lorelai laughed. "I get to go over to the inn and hear a contractor laugh at me every time I say 'But that won't cost me too much more, right?'" Lorelai sighed in frustration. She hated being in a financial bind.

"Enjoy," Rory said with a laugh.

"Late lunch at Luke's?" Lorelai asked, turning towards the stairs to go finish getting ready.

"You're on," Rory agreed, turning and looking down to see which way the Post-Its led, only to frown. "So, uh, which way do I go?"

Lorelai turned back. "Oh, just follow the Post-Its."

"But they're going in two different directions," Rory said pointing out the scattered Post-Its mess."

"They are?"

"Look."

Lorelai noticed it and frowned. "Oh, I must have kicked some out of the way by accident."

"Well, which one do I take?"

"Which looks more intentional?"

Rory looked at her mom in disbelief. "No Post-It path looks intentional."

"I'm drawing a complete blank."

"You seriously don't remember?"

"Sorry," Lorelai shrugged.

"Well, how are we supposed to get out of our house?"

Lorelai thought about for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest, nodding her head and blinking. "Unng!"

"I hate Kirk," Rory muttered looking down at the path.

"Trial and error, kid," Lorelai said causing Rory to sigh. She decided to take the one closest to the door, only to take a wrong step and cause the alarm to go off again. Rory gave a growl of frustration as she heard her mother laugh over the alarm.

"Wasn't that one!"

"Thanks!" Rory said glaring up at the stairs. Feeling the need to get back for the response, she scattered the Post-It notes even more, before leaving the house. Shaking her head, she walked towards Luke's, enjoying the walk and just being home in general.

Since school started, she hadn't been able to visit as much as she'd wanted, spending most of her weekends studying and spending time in the library. After spending three years at Chilton she was used to spending more time in a room full of books and dead authors than she was with her mother.

But even a bookworm like her got homesick and needed the feel of home. So as she entered Luke's, she took in her surroundings, smiling at the little eccentricities that happened in the town. Gypsy was arguing with Jackson over his truck; Taylor was in front of his shop, probably gathering the nerve to talk to Luke. And Luke, he was serving coffee and wiping down counters, his blue baseball cap firmly in place.

Walking in, she relished the sound of the bell sounding over her head, announcing her presence.

"Rory!" Luke said a bit awkwardly. She blushed, her mother hadn't stopped at the making out comment last night, but had kept the gag going, embarrassing both her and Luke in the process. "How are you?"

"Missing my boyfriend," she sighed. "But other than that, hungry."

"Well, I can help you there. What can I get you?"

"Coffee." She looked at the fresh muffins, then back at Luke. "And two of those."

"Coming right up," Luke laughed pouring her the coffee. "So how's Yale?"

"Hard." Rory laughed as she watched him cap the coffee cup and go over to the muffins. "But that's what my grandparents are paying for, right?"

"Right, and the boyfriend…"

"Finn?" Rory asked, as he put the bag with the muffin in front of her. "He's fine, we talked last night."

"And he's where?"

"Fiji," Rory sighed, "For the year with his buddies. But we talk on the phone and send e-mails, so we're in constant contact with each other."

"I like him," Luke said, feeling the need to show his approval. Rory had always been like a daughter to him, and he'd always felt protective towards her.

Rory smiled at his caring tone as she gathered her things. "Thanks, Luke, that means a lot coming from you, and I like him too."

"Good."

"So how much do I owe?"

"First year Yale students eat for free," Luke smiled, leaving to help someone before she could respond.

Laughing she picked up the bag and coffee and left Luke's going towards the gazebo. Sitting down, she took out her iPod, set it on random and stuffed it back in her bag, taking out one of her reading books and starting where she left off. The perfect relaxing day. She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. Definitely good to be home.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn had always been a light sleeper, anything could wake him up. There were only those rare moments where he fell into such a deep sleep that a bomb could go off and he wouldn't wake up. But that was usually when he'd either just had a good bout of sex or his mind was alcohol induced. And tonight he hadn't had either of those.

He'd gone to bed, shortly after one in the morning, after he and Colin had stayed up playing video games and drinking a few. He'd planned on sleeping until noon so he could talk to Rory before she and her mother occupied themselves for the night.

But now he was wide awake, thanks to the sound of what sounded like someone rattling his door. Staring at the ceiling, he turned his head and looked. It was currently three in the morning. He sat up and frowned at the door before it opened. Someone was pushed in, then the door was closed.

"Who is it?" Finn asked.

Someone cleared their throat, causing Finn to frown even more and lean over the nightstand to turn on the light. Turning back he saw a young woman standing at the door, looking rather uncomfortable.

"Got lost?" He smirked, assuming it was one of Logan's bedmates.

The girl cleared her throat before answering, "Actually, your friend pushed me in here, said you were looking for a good time."

He could see the blush rising in her cheeks and he was all of a sudden reminded of Rory. The way her face would get a slight pink tint while she talked about things such as sex or any innuendoes he passed her way.

"My friend?"

The girl nodded. "Uh, we met him on the island, at one of the clubs. He said he had two friends who were in the need of some women. So we volunteered."

"To whore yourself out?" Finn asked.

The girl glared. "I'm not whoring myself out."

"You just told me that you can in here to have sex with me. That's whoring yourself out. You don't even know me, yet you were willing to sleep with me. Or you found out my friend and I are loaded, then in that case you're just a gold digger."

"Me and my friends were just looking for a good time."

"Well, you're not finding it here." Finn gestured for her to turn around. "Let me put some clothes on and I'll show you out."

"But you're-"

"My friend made a mistake," Finn said, watching as she turned around. He got out of bed and pulled on some boxers as well as an undershirt, and led her out, turning on the light for the hall. "Stay there," he said leaving her by the stairs and opening Colin's room.

By opening the door, he accidentally hit the girl standing on the inside of Colin's room. He grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her out. Luckily Colin was the heavy sleeper. "Go join your friend."

"But-"

"Go!" Finn said, glaring at the girl before going to Logan's room. He opened the door, Logan looked up and pushed the girl off him.

"What the hell, Finn?!"

"Show the girls out, me, you and Colin need to have a little talk. Now!" He growled before slamming the door again and going back to Colin's room. After waking Colin up and telling him what was going on, they walked up the stairs to see Logan apologizing to the girls. They bypassed the scene and they sat in the kitchen.

Colin got out two waters and passed one to Finn who was sitting in the booth in the corner of the kitchen, while Colin took a seat at the counter, swinging his legs and looking at a very calm Finn. And a calm Finn only meant one thing…

"You're pissed," Colin pointed out.

Finn looked over at him slowly. "Yeah, well, I have a right to be."

Colin sighed. "Logan meant well."

"No, Logan meant to piss me off, Colin." Finn shook his head. "If he pisses me off anymore, I'll pull out."

"Finn, come on," Colin said, never doubting that Finn was serious. When Finn had his mind set on something, he would stop at nothing, and when he gave you his word, he meant it.

"No, he's pushing it, Colin," Finn shook his head. "I'm not going to stay here for a year and let Logan be a bastard. Not if it means that he's hurting Rory in the process."

"So you're going to throw a long time friendship away for a girl?"

They turned and saw Logan looking at Finn with astonishment written all over his face.

Finn looked seriously at Logan. "You put a girl in my room and told her to have sex with me, Logan."

"And you said no. Fine, whatever."

"No, it's not 'whatever', Logan. You deliberately set it up so I would cheat on Rory, knowing that all it would do would piss me off. You did it to Colin too who, you know, is about to commit as well."

"We don't know that."

"We don't?" Colin frowned, then looked at Logan. "I told you that I was going to call Lane and talk to her about it. I'm pretty sure we do know this little tidbit of information, Logan. The only reason I'm not pissed about it is because had I slept with this girl, not saying I was, I wouldn't have been cheating."

"You would have felt guilty though," Finn pointed out.

"Oh, no doubt about it." Colin then looked at Logan. "But you knew that by putting that girl in Finn's room you'd piss him off. Finn's warned you, Logan, that if you did anything to jeopardize his relationship with Rory, he'd pull out of the trip. And with this little 'prank' that you pulled, you're practically telling Finn to leave."

Logan rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it that way, I just thought that if Finn used the girl, he'd stop…" He trailed off.

"Stop what?" Finn asked sitting up, then smirked. "Are you jealous?"

Colin laughed. "Oh god, you are!"

"What do I have to be jealous of?" Logan asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"The fact that I spend my time talking with Rory than I do hanging out with you. Newsflash, Logan, she's my girlfriend."

"It's no reason to put her before friends."

"And I'm not!" Finn argued. "I talk to her when it's convenient! There's a time difference, Logan! So while you think that my day is spent talking with her, it's not!"

"Yeah, it is!" Logan yelled.

Finn shook his head. "Yesterday I talked to her twice!"

"On the way here, all you did was spend time in your room," Logan pointed out.

Finn rolled his eyes. "Not talking to her. Sort of impossible, what with the lack of phone lines, I spend the two weeks in my room watching movies and sleeping, Logan. I sent her e-mails. That's about it." Finn shook his head. "I don't need to explain myself to you. I'm a big boy, it's my private life that I'm not going to share."

"The thing is, Finn, you're here for a year with us. Not her."

"I realize that," Finn nodded patiently. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop thinking about someone that I care for. Get used to the fact that Rory is here to stay."

Logan shook his head. "It's not going to last, Finn. Your attention span is too short to really commit to her."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Oh please, had my attention span been as short as you claim, I would have dumped her weeks ago, but I haven't. You promised to deal with it. Before we set sail, I asked you if you could accept Rory as my girlfriend, and if not, to tell me and I'd pack my things and leave. You said yes."

Logan nodded. "I did."

Finn stared at Logan who kept his gaze. "I'm asking you again, mate. Can you deal with the fact that Rory is my girlfriend. If not, tell me now, I'll pack my things and get the first plane out of here."

Logan looked over at Finn and noticed that he was dead serious. He thought about it and sighed. The truth will set you free, he thought before uttering "no."

Colin frowned as Finn sat in shock.

"What?" Colin asked.

"I can't deal with it." He shrugged. "If you want to leave, fine, I don't care."

Finn shook his head before getting up and nodding. "Fine. I'll go pack."

"Finn wait!" Colin sighed, but Finn ignored the call and left the kitchen. "Did you seriously just do that?"

"At this point, Colin, I couldn't care less," Logan said with a shrug.

"So are you going to kick me off too when I ask Lane to be my girlfriend?"

Logan shrugged. "I don't know."

Colin scoffed and shook his head. "You better make up your mind fast, Logan, because by the looks of things, you might be taking this trip by yourself." Colin pushed past the blonde and left.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Turning the page of her book, she reached her the highlighter in her book bag when she felt someone stomp up the steps of the gazebo and set something down. She looked up and saw a guy setting down a box. Pulling out her earphones and holding the place in her book, she looked at the guy.

"What's going on?" She asked, confusion lacing her voice.

"I'm just setting things up for tomorrow," he said absently, trying to figure out how to open the box.

"Oh, tomorrow." She rolled here eyes as if she knew what tomorrow was. According to her day planner it was Sunday. "What's –"

"Heads up!" A voice interrupted her. She felt the air stir above her head, causing her to duck down as a packet of linens came flying over her head, the man in front of her catching them.

"I think you may need to move," the man said.

"Yeah, I kinda got that," Rory said rolling her eyes, and gathering her things. "I'm sorry, but what's tomorrow?"

The guy turned before responding, causing Rory to sigh in defeat before turning and seeing Lindsay and Mrs. Lister talking below a few feet from the gazebo.

"I was thinking tons of tulle, so that everything looks like frosting," Lindsay said with a giggle, looking at the woman who Rory assumed was a planner.

"She's our only daughter - frost the town," Mrs Lister said proudly.

"Now, where should we put the poster?" Lindsay asked holding up a blown up picture of Dean and herself hugging. "I want to make sure everybody sees it."

"Oh!" Mrs. Lister said, apparently having a genius idea. "What about next to the cake?"

"Yes," the wedding planner nodded, "Next to the cake." Lindsay squealed excitedly hugging her mother. Rory frowned before turning and jogging down the gazebo and towards her best friend's house.

How could she have not known that Dean was getting married this weekend? Had Lane and her wires gotten crossed or had Lane told her and Rory had just forgotten, what with all the other useless crap she had to remember for school?

Shaking her head free of the thoughts, she walked into Kim's Antiques, not bothering to knock.

"Lane?!" She called.

"Rory?" Lane asked coming into view and hugging her.

"Have you heard of a phone?" Rory asked, deciding Lane hadn't told her ."Because as my friend, it is your responsibility to use it to call me and tell me that my ex-boyfriend's wedding is on Sunday so I'm not accidentally in it."

Lane frowned, confusion written on her face. "What?"

"I'm sitting out in the gazebo, reading, and this guy almost brains me with a stack of tablecloths."

"Oh, that's right, they're having their reception in the town square." Lane nodded, remembering, then frowning, trying to figure out why she hadn't told Rory.

"Yeah, and Lindsay was out there holding a giant picture of her and Dean and…"

"Oh my god!" Lane said interrupting. "Did she see you?"

"I don't think so. I do a pretty good idiot run when I need to," Rory sighed, relaxing a bit.

"I'm sorry. I meant to tell you, I just didn't know you were coming home this weekend. It totally slipped my mind. Things have been so crazy, I just figured I'd tell you when we talked, and then we didn't, and…" Lane trailed off as if remembering something ."Oh, I'm sorry, can you hold on just a sec."

Rory frowned as Lane walked away, further into the store and opened the armoire that sat against the wall. Rory stifled a laugh as she saw the tall forms of Brian and Zach stuffed inside.

"Not cool, Lane," Zach said stepping out, Brian behind him.

"I'm sorry, guys," Lane apologized, trying hard not to laugh.

"Fourth time today," Brain pointed out.

"Well, I thought Rory was my mom," Lane pointed out.

"The resemblance is uncanny," Zach said dryly.

"We should get your mom a bell… like a cat," Brain suggested.

"What's going on?" Rory asked confused.

"We're having a band meeting," Lane said. "We need to figure out what to do about a guitarist."

"I think I got a splinter," Brian said randomly, looking at his finger.

"You know that a splinter can get into your bloodstream," Zach said. "Go straight to your heart and kill you."

Brian looked at him incredulously. "Why would you tell me that?"

Zach rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude. This is lame, I'm gonna bail," he said starting to leave.

"Zach, come on!" Lane pleaded grabbing his arm to keep him from leaving.

"We need to find a guitarist," Brain pointed out for Rory's benefit.

"That's right. We have come too far to let the band fall apart just because Dave…"

Zach cut her off. "Hey, do not say the 'D' word, Lane."

"But…"

"Don't!" Zach said finally.

"Dave-" Lane began.

"Dave is dead to me!" Zach yelled. "Comprendo? Dead. Cover the mirror, rip a shirt, that guy doesn't exist."

"He just went to college, Zach," Brian said.

"No," Zach said, "He did not just go to college, he walked out on his art, man. He walked out on his sound. Do you think a sound is easy to find? Did you ever see that Glenn Miller movie? For two hours Jimmy Stewart's walking around, "I gotta find a sound. I gotta find a sound' Well, we had a sound and Dave took that sound to freaking California. You don't come back from California, man. It changes you."

Lane frowned. "What did you expect him to do – not go to college?"

"No true rock 'n' roller goes to college."

Rory felt the need to add her own two cents in, plus she loved getting a rise out of Zach. "Mick Jagger went to the London School of Economics."

"What?" Zach asked in confusion.

"Yeah, and, uh, Dexter Holland of The Offspring got his PhD in Molecular Biology at USC. Greg Ginn of Black Flag graduated from UCLA. Greg Graffin from Bad Religion got his Masters in Geology from UCLA, and he's working on his PhD in Evolutionary Biology at Cornell." She bit her lip as Zach looked at her in shock.

"Wh-" he spluttered.

Rory bit her lip as she thought about more. "Then Tom Scholz of Boston got his Masters in Electrical Engineering from MIT, Brian May from Queen got a PhD in Astronomy at the Imperial College London, Mira Aroyo from Ladytron got a PhD in Genetics from Oxford in England, and then there's Sterling Morrison from Velvet Underground who got his PhD in English from the University of Texas," she nodded with a small smile.

Zach looked at her in disbelief before turning to Lane. "Lane, she's your friend."

"I'm sorry," Rory said as Lane turned her attention to Rory. "Um, I'm going to go. I'll call you later?"

"Are you mad?" Lane asked worried.

"No, I'm not, I promise. I'm just a little surprised. I mean Dean's wedding."

"I know," Lane said knowing that even though Rory loved Finn, no matter how much she denied it, the fact that her ex was marrying was a bit weird.

"But it's okay. It just means that I have to be a little more careful about where I go this weekend, that's all."

"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow," Lane said. "We're using the garage, you know, guitar auditions."

Rory nodded. "Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! Weezer did not go to Harvard," Zach said covering his ears.

"Not the whole band," Brain corrected. "Just the lead sin-"

"Get away from me!" Zach said pushing Brian out of the way. "I mean it."

Lane and Rory laughed as Rory reached the door. "Oh, before I forget, let Colin speak next time you talk to him."

Lane frowned but nodded. "All right, bye."

"Bye." Rory waved leaving the store. She shook her head, hoping that Lane would find that guitarist soon or else Zach would probably go out to California and kill Dave for leaving. She smiled slightly to herself. Not noticing where she was going, she bumped into something. Backing up a few steps she noticed that something happened to be her ex-boyfriend's chest.

"Hi," she said quickly, rubbing her head that had made impact.

"Hi. Uh, were you…" He pointed at Lane's.

"Oh, yeah, I was at, uh, Lane's." She frowned, why was this so uncomfortable?

"Right, Lane's. " Dean nodded. "Um…"

"Um…" Rory bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say. Unfortunately she came up drawing a blank.

"So, you're home this weekend," Dean stated.

"Yeah," Rory said excitedly and with a nod, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I ran out of clean clothes and quarters, so…" she bit her lip. "How are things?"

"Good. You?"

"Good," Rory nodded.

"You like Yale?" Dean asked.

"I love Yale," Rory smiled.

"I figured," Dean nodded.

"And Connecticut State?" Rory asked.

"It's…" Dean trailed off, then shrugged. "It's good."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad it's good. I mean, not that I would have had any recourse if it wasn't, but this makes my lack of recourse a lot easier to deal with." She heard a slam behind her and looked over her shoulder to see another box hit the gazebo. "So I see you've taken over the town."

"Oh, yeah, Well, Lindsay thought…She likes the gazebo and…" Dean trailed off, not quite sure why he was at a loss of words at the moment. He and Rory were friends. They could talk and not have it be awkward.

"And it's her wedding," Rory pointed out.

Dean nodded, a light smile playing on his lips. "It is her wedding."

"And your wedding. I mean..." She shrugged. "It's your wedding too."

Dean nodded. "Yes, it is. It's my wedding too."

"Well, it's nice. Pretty," she said. "It looks like heaven or a Victoria's Secret commercial." She felt her cell vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out she continued. "Which to some people is basically the same thing." She frowned at the caller ID, then looked at Dean. Sorry, I have to take this."

Dean shrugged. "Oh, ok."

Rory opened the phone and frowned. "Isn't it like four in the morning where you're at?"

"I'm coming home," Fin stated into the phone.

"Excuse me?" Rory asked in disbelief.

"I'm coming home."

"Oh god, is something wrong with your dad, 'cause I'll go check on him."

Finn laughed. "No, my dad's all right. Logan kicked me off."

Rory rubbed her head and frowned. "Logan kicked you off… the yacht?" Rory asked.

"No, love, the spaceship. Yes, the yacht."

"So you're in the sea right now." Getting the image of Finn floating in the middle of the ocean talking to her while holding on to a piece of driftwood to keep him afloat. "You can swim, right?"

Finn sighed, "No, I'm on the yacht packing my things. I'm getting the first flight out. And yes, I can swim."

"Want to explain to me why?"

"I took swimming lessons," he teased.

"Not the reason why you can swim, the reason Logan's kicking you off the yacht!"

"Rather not."

"Well, I'm not letting you come home if you're not telling me why."

"It's not your decision," Finn said.

Rory shook her head. "No, it's not, but you're going to regret this, Finn, he's your best friend."

"Ex-best friend."

"Oh jeez, that is so fifth grade, Finn." Rory rolled her eyes, "You're much more mature than that."

"He's a poophead and that's' all there is to it," he teased gently.

"And now you're a second grader. Nice, I'm robbing the cradle."

Finn sighed, trying hard not to laugh. "Look, we had some words and it resulted in Logan kicking me out. Aren't you happy that I'm coming home, get to see your handsome boyfriend again?"

Rory laughed. "I'd be very happy to see my boyfriend again, Finn, but I want to know why you and Logan are arguing."

"I really really don't want to tell you, love."

"Then I really really don't want to talk to you right now."

"Oh crap, I really can't have two people mad at me right now."

"Then go work it out with Logan and call me when you grow up," Rory said. "Now I'm hanging up."

Finn sighed. "I'll call you in five minutes!"

Rory shook her head before hanging up and keeping the phone in her hand. "Sorry, um... my boyfriend."

"Oh…" Dean nodded. "Right, boyfriend."

"He's out of town for the year, so we're doing the long distance thing. Though he may come back." Rory shook her head with a smile. "Who knows."

"Unpredictable?"

"At times," Rory nodded. "He left a few weeks ago," she shrugged.

"So... I didn't know you were going to be here this weekend." Dean mentally slapped himself, he'd already said that.

Rory shrugged, feeling a bit more awkward. "Got kicked out of my dorm. My roommate and her boyfriend wanted the dorm to themselves, and, well, it was a self-preservation thing."

"Oh," Dean nodded, shocked that Rory was so open about talking about sex, even if it was discreetly. When they had dated, she had been so shy about things and now… well, she was really different. "Well, if I had known, I would have invited you to the wedding."

"Oh." Rory frowned. "Well, it's okay.I mean…"

"No, you should come."

"What?" Rory asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you and Lorelai, come to my wedding."

"Oh, we-"

"Chicken or beef?"

"What?"

"Chicken or beef? Wait, beef, of course beef. I mean, the two of you are definitely beef. I mean, not like you resemble beef or anything."

"You know, you don't even have to-"

"Okay, so noon at the church. I'll be the one in the tux. And don't worry, we didn't write our own vows and no one's singing opera. I know you think that's lame," Dean laughed.

"Oh, no, well, it's a wedding. It's supposed to be… operatic," Rory said, not quite sure what she had just agreed to.

"Okay, so I better get over there. Lindsay's expecting me. So I'll just see you two tomorrow."

"Wait-" Rory trailed off and she watched Dean walk across the street and the phone vibrate in her hand.

What had she just gotten herself into??

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Now?" She heard Kirk call from upstairs.

Lorelai frowned looking at the security box on her wall. Nothing had changed. Everything on the little LCD green screen was as it was two seconds ago. "Nothing!" she called back.

"What about now?" Kirk asked again.

"No, nothing!" She really doubted that Kirk was doing anything to the box upstairs and she really hoped the weirdo wasn't going through her underwear drawer or something. She shuddered at the thought.

"Okay. Now?"

"Nothing!" She sighed. "Kirk, what's supposed to happen?"

"What?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for." She yelled up the sitars. When she got no response, she sighed in frustration. "Kirk?"

"I'm not sure."

Shaking her head, she turned away from the screen and up the stairs. "Kirk, please come downstairs."

"Are you going to hurt me?"

"Kirk!" Lorelai warned.

"I swear," he explained as he started down the stairs. "They told me it would be self-explanatory. I just had to get in the main box and in seconds this thing would be disabled. They didn't tell me that I needed a key or, that if I didn't have a key, that I would be mildly electrocuted, and then after all that, when I got in the box, there was nothing self-explanatory about it."

"Kirk." Lorelai sighed resiting the urge to pat him on the head, like a little puppy who just did wrong.

"I was trying to do a nice thing," Kirk said in a low voice.

"I know."

"And Jimmy said he would install it for me because I do not have those skills yet." Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "The class was full by the time I go there," he explained.

"That's okay."

"Damn my constant tardiness."

Lorelai nodded but was still frustrated. She was tired of not being able to walk freely in he house without having the neighbors duck and cover in fear of Sputnik coming down on their heads. "Kirk, please, what can we do right now? The alarm is just so loud."

"Yeah, that's my fault too. I asked Jimmy to really crank it up."

"Well, he did," Lorelai said dryly.

"If you're gonna have an alarm, you need it loud. You don't want some crazed knife-wielding gunman at your throat and the neighbors are going like, 'Is that a fan? Did I leave the water running?' You want them to know 'Hey, that's an alarm.'"

Lorelai frowned, still stuck on something he had said. "Your imaginary attacker has a knife and a gun?"

"And a really dirty tank top." Kirk nodded matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Lorelai said. That was way too much information for her. "So, uh, Jimmy's out of town, but until he gets back we can…" she trailed off, hoping to all the gods above that Kirk would fill in the blank.

"Change the code," Kirk said, going over to the security system on the wall.

"Really? To something I know?"

"You can pick it," Kirk nodded, punching some buttons on the system.

"And you know how to do that?"

"Yes, I do."

"That is perfect," Lorelai said happily.

"Okay, here you go, just punch in a six number sequence.

"Thank you," Lorelai said, punching in the first two numbers of her and Rory's birthday year, which was 19, then the last two numbers of both her and Rory's years which were 68 and 84. Punching it in, she heard the door open and someone walk in.

"Hey!" Sookie said, popping out from around the corner.

"Hi," Lorelai said pushing 'Enter'.

"Did you know your phone's not working?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai frowned. She knew she paid the phone bill that month. "What?"

"I've been calling you for an hour. I had the operator check it. She said it's cut off or something."

Lorelai shrugged. "It was working this morning."

She heard Kirk head towards the sitars. "I'll be right back."

"Kirk!" Lorelai yelled as he ran up the steps.

"I have tape!" He called over his shoulder.

Sookie looked at Lorelai in sympathy. "You look tired."

"Yeah, well, Kirk," Lorelai said with a sigh pointing upstairs.

"Right." Sookie laughed as they walked into the kitchen. She took a seat as Lorelai grabbed a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator and some cups. "I got a call today."

"From?" Lorelai asked, putting the cups on the table and pouring some for her and Sookie.

"Michel, a very upset Michel."

"Why?"

"Well, apparently he called you and you never called him back."

"When did he call me?" She racked her brain to try and remember if she'd ever gotten a call from the irate Frenchman.

"He said he called you in July."

"I went to Martha's Vineyard at the end of July. Do you think he called then?"

Sookie shrugged. "I don't know, but I think that he thinks we're trying to ease him out of the Dragonfly."

"Oh come on," Lorelai said. "Why would he think that?"

"I don't know, but he was so hysterical that his voice got in that high pitched squeal he does," Sookie said, doing the high pitch noise, not quite reaching Michel's level though. "And all I could make out was 'fire' and 'abandon me' and something about not receiving a thank-you card for the Statue of Liberty."

"That is crazy!" Lorelai said, not quite believing that she had to deal with the craziness of Kirk and now Michel's bipolar moods. "He knows we always intended to take him with us. I mean… we love Michel… right?"

"Right," Sookie agreed. "He's the best concierge in the world."

"Absolutely," Lorelai agreed, then added. "A little abrasive."

"Kind of impatient," Sookie added.

"But charming," Lorelai pointed out.

"And great at what he does, knows the community."

"And he's willing to go that extra mile."

"Just a tiny bit obnoxious," Sookie said, putting her forefinger and thumb closer together.

"And makes you want to scream 'life's too short!" two, three times a day, but.."

Sookie smiled. "Picture life without him. We do _need_ him, right?"

They stayed silent for a moment and Lorelai smiled as she felt the weight of the world feel so much lighter without having to deal with Mitchel's irate moods, but before she could convince herself that life was indeed easier without him, she found herself at the bottom of the river, with lead shoes and Michel pointing at her laughing.

"Let's just go down there and talk to him," Lorelai told Sookie, who nodded.

"Right."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

_**A.N.:**_ Sorry that last part was pretty much all transcript, lol… Next two chapters I know for a fact vary. I have some plans, plans I hope you all enjoy. And yes, I realize Logan's an ass,and he will continue being so indefinitely. Trust me, you will hate Logan if you don't already. He's not misunderstood, he really is that much of a jackass. Lol.

Hope you all enjoyed, and I'm hoping that the next part of this comes out soon!!

Kassandra


	16. Letting Go

_**Part 16: Letting Go**_

After her the awkward meeting with Dean, she started her walk home. She bit her lip thinking about the marriage and winced when her phone began to ring, she took it out of her pocket, smiling lightly when she saw Finn's name on the caller ID. Flipping it open she answered. "Did you grow up?"

"About a year or two." Finn sighed, laying on his bed and looking at the ceiling.

"You wanna tell me about the fight now?"

"You're going to be angry."

Rory nodded, as she started walking towards home. "Well, why don't you let me figure that out, and just tell me what happened."

Finn sighed, not quite sure how to go about it. "I was sleeping, and I woke up to someone opening my door, when I looked up it was a girl."

"A girl snuck on the boat and went into your room?"

Finn hesitated before saying. "Logan may have had part in her finding her way onto the boat."

Rory stopped, and took the phone from her ear, making sure it was Finn, before putting the phone back up to her ear. "I'm sorry; I thought I heard you say that Logan put a girl in your room."

He hesitated "I did, he did."

"Wh-what would…why?" she spluttered, not quite sure what she had just asked.

Finn sighed. "He's mad…or I just…I really don't know anymore but I talked to him about it, and we came to the conclusion that it was better if I left."

Rory frowned as she continued walking. "There's more to it than that isn't there?"

"Maybe."

"What were these words that were shared?"

Just as she reached the porch, her mom and Sookie came out of the house and smiled at her. "We're going to go talk to Michel, we'll be back." Lorelai said kissing her cheek.

Rory nodded, as she passed them and went inside, smiling at Sookie. She dropped her bag on the floor, and plopped on the couch, settling in to talk to Finn. She laid her head on the armrest and kicked off her shoes before stretching out on the couch.

"Finn, what were the words shared?"

She heard Finn sigh. "He doesn't think that we're going to last...he said that he didn't accept you as my girlfriend and a bunch of other little things."

"So you're leaving because of me?" Rory whispered.

"No...Yeah…Not really." Finn groaned frustrated. "I'm just tired of the way he talks about you. Or...doesn't talk about you."

Rory shook her head. "You're not leaving because of me. I won't let you. I'm not going to be responsible for breaking up a friendship Finn. You, Logan, and Colin are all so close, and for you to be choosing a girl over him is completely idiotic."

"But you're not just some girl Rory..." He couldn't find the words to tell her that she was the one for him. That she wasn't just some girl he'd picked up during the summer and decided to commit himself to. She was it for him. He knew it in the short time that they had been together that every other girl in the world would never be able to compare to Rory, and he didn't want them to.

But, staring at the ceiling from his bed, he kept his mouth shut, and heard her breathing on the other line. He could tell from the slight hitch in her breath that she was annoyed with him.

She hesitated briefly, wondering if he was going to say more to that statement, but he stayed quiet.

"I realize that I'm not just some girl Finn." She said quietly, sitting up and bringing her knees to her chest, hugging them and laying her cheek on her knee as she talked. "But I just don't feel comfortable that you and Logan are fighting about me. If he doesn't accept me, then who cares, I'm not too fond of him either, but I don't want that to affect your relationship with him."

"So what do I do?" Finn asked. "Ignore the fact that I have a girlfriend when I'm around him, tiptoe around the subject, act like his fucking best friend, help him get the girls and get drunk off my ass every day just to make him feel better and feel like he has his best friend back?" Finn asked, rather bitterly.

"I think that you guys should do what girls do." Rory suggested.

"And what's that?"

"Sit down and talk about how you feel." Rory ventured, glad to hear Finn burst out laughing.

"Right."

"No, I know that that may sound a bit girly, but maybe sitting down with Logan and really telling him everything might just make everything..."

"Better?" He teased.

"No...I was going to say a little less tense." She rolled her eyes. "You're not different Finn. If anything, this summer you became more aware of who you are, and decided to change your ways in a healthier route. But I know that the Finn I met at the beginning of the summer, and the Finn that Tristan, Colin, and Steph tell me about are one in the same. If Logan doesn't see that he's an idiot."

Finn smiled. "Thanks love."

"You're welcome. Now that you're feeling better, do you want to go to bed...or..."

"Tell me what you did today." Finn said, kicking off the covers of his bed and getting under them. Maybe he'd talk to Logan in the morning, maybe.

"Well my ex-boyfriend is going to get married and I'm apparently going."

"You are?" he asked surprised.

"He invited me, it was when you called the first time, I was talking to him...literally ran into him he invited me and really didn't give me a chance to say yes or no."

"Are you going?" Finn asked, yawning slightly.

"I don't know." Rory shrugged. "Mom and I are invited, so I'll ask mom later if she wants to go. I mean, just because me and Dean broke up doesn't mean we're not friends. It's just weird between us. I don't know." Rory shook her head. "But Luke likes you."

"I'm glad."

She smiled when she heard him trying to hide his yawn. "Baby go to sleep, I'll call you later."

"Are you sure? I can stay up for a few more minutes if you want to talk." Finn said, but she already heard him drifting.

"Go, I have to make a call anyway."

"All right, have a good rest of the day love."

"Night Finn." Rory smiled as she heard him hang up, sure that he had fallen asleep the minute the phone closed. She closed her own phone, before sighing and feeling the sense of irritation and anger build up. She'd pushed it aside when she'd first heard what Logan had done, because Finn had been upset, but now. Shaking her head, she dialed Tristan's number.

"Hey Mar."

"What's Logan's cell?"

"What?" Tristan asked confused.

"Logan's number Tristan, what is it?"

"You sound annoyed Mar, wanna tell me why you want Logan's number."

"I need to talk to the little gnat, want to give me his number?" She heard Stephanie's voice, and Tristan cover up the phone talking, before she heard his sigh.

"Got some paper and pen or something?"

"Yeah." She stood up and walked to the desk. She listened to Tristan tell her the number, she wrote it, repeated it back, the second he'd confirmed the number she hung up and dialed. Not caring that it was five in the morning in Fiji.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Logan stared up at his ceiling; he and Finn hadn't quite reached an understanding. After he and Colin had left the kitchen, Logan had stayed and grabbed something to eat, when Finn had barged in minutes later saying he was staying, that the Fiji trip wasn't just Logan's trip but his as well, glared then left.

At the moment they were barley tolerating each other, and he knew that he was the one causing the rifts between him and the Colin-Finn team. He was happy they had found someone that they could relate to. Happy that Colin had finally found someone that was even more obsessed with music them he himself was. And he was happy that Finn finally found someone that could deal with his dramatics and 'flaws'.

He just felt like being selfish this year. It was his last 'real' year with his friends. Before having to go back to school, and actually work hard. His father had given him an ultimatum. It was take the year off of school including the summer with his friends, goof off, get laid, and do whatever it was he wanted, before actually getting to work and preparing himself to become the Huntzberger heir. Or wait until they graduated and then take off a year.

The problem with the second option was he knew Finn would most likely take over a hotel for his father right after graduation. Even if Finn didn't know if that was what he wanted to do, Logan knowing his friend like he did, knew he'd love every single minute of running a hotel and would most likely figure that out this summer and leave right after graduation. Or if he and Rory lasted, he'd probably end up in New York to be closer to her, and work from there, waiting for her to finish. The way this was going on, he wondered if not only was there going to be a graduation in their future, but a wedding.

He shook his head. Then Colin was planning on traveling with his father after graduation, because unlike the Huntzberger's, the McCrea's actually had a father-son relationship. Even if his father did remarry almost every year, Andrew McCrea never missed the summer Europe trip with his son. They contacted each other briefly throughout the year, and then spent the summer catching each other up. Even if it was an odd relationship, it was one.

It was why he'd taken the opportunity to take the year off. He knew that his friends would be able to convince their parents. Finn's only condition was that he had to visit his mother and Colin's was that he would be with them the year, then leave during the summer to do the father-son thing. Logan had grasped at the opportunity.

But now that they were on the trip, Finn spent most of the time in his room, on his cell, talking or texting, or on his computer and Colin spent most of the time muttering to himself about 'asking her' and calling Lane, hanging up every time her mother picked up which Logan had to admit was pretty amusing. But this defiantly wasn't shaping out to be the trip he'd envisioned.

While he would admit putting the girls in the guy's room, was stupid on his part. He needed to get the guys to loosen up. He wasn't talking about sex...but at least go out some. But Finn was always worrying about the sound of the clubs and not being able to hear of his phone rang which was the same with Colin. It was starting to irk him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill ring of his phone. Wincing when the sudden sound went through the quiet of his room, he rolled over and grabbed the phone looking at the caller ID. Frowning when he didn't recognize the number he pressed ignore and lay back down.

Who the hell would call him? Finn and Colin were on the boat, and they each had their own tunes, same with Tristan and Steph. The other people he talked to like Robert, Lanny, and the other guys knew where he was and were all in his phonebook, meaning their name would show up.

The phone rang again and he saw it was the same number, frowning he answered, wondering just who it was.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell do you get off, putting a girl in my boyfriends room?"

'_Rory. Fuck.' _He thought. "Hey Rory, how are you?" He said weakly, sitting up.

"How...how am I??" she yelled into the phone. "My boyfriend called me and told me that you put a girl in his room to sleep with him! How the hell do you think I am Logan?! Please enlighten me!"

"I'm guessing your pretty pissed." he ventured.

"Pissed does not begin to cover it." Rory seethed.

Logan sighed. "Look, I'm sorry you're upset about this but it was just a joke."

"Just a joke?" she asked.

"Yeah, a joke, it's nothing to get yourself worked up about."

"Logan, I'm not the type of girl to get angry if you jokingly put a girl in my boyfriends room. I could care less. Hell even if you got her in his bed, as long as it's a joke. Like...Major Payne joke."

"I know you're not that type of girl" He said calmly not quite understanding the reference of Major Payne.

"But when my boyfriend calls me and tells me that you did it, because you wanted him to sleep with this girl, hurting me in the process, it's when I have a problem. Now I trust Finn but I don't trust you. Do you understand why I'm upset...do you see the difference?"

'_Well that was honesty.' _He thought before nodding. "Yeah, I understand why you're upset."

"You crossed the line Logan, I get that you don't like me, truthfully you haven't done much to get me to like you but I'm dating Finn and you're his best friend, so I act civil towards you, what you do to me is mean Logan. Trying to get Finn to cheat on me is... is so stupid that I wonder why Finn is even putting up with you."

"If you'd let me-"

She cut him off. "No, let me talk then you can explain. I like Finn, a lot, and I can't figure out what I did to make you hate me Logan. I don't know if it's' because you think I took Finn away, or because you think I made him say that if you said something bad about me he'd leave. But I didn't. I like Finn, but I don't want to tear him away from you or Colin. Like I know he wouldn't tear me away from Lane, or Tristan and Steph. I want him to stay. I've already told him that I _shouldn't_ be the reason he leaves.

"He gave me a chance to ask him to stay Logan bet you didn't know that. He did the night before and a few minutes before he left. And while I would have loved to be able to see him every day, I told him to go Logan. Why? Because I wasn't going to have him skip out on a trip that you guys planned before he got with me. I like him _a lot_ Logan, and I miss him _a lot_. But I hate that he's calling me, and telling me that he can't enjoy himself because you're the one ruining it for him."

"Now wait-"

"You are Logan, you're sabotaging your own trip and for what? Because Finn got a girlfriend?" Rory sighed as she sat on the couch, and heard the door opening. She watched her mom come in shaking her head and sat next to her. She frowned and Rory held up a finger. "I don't know you very well, because we never really gave each other the chance I guess but I don't like what you're doing."

"I understand."

"Don't placate me Logan." Rory said, standing up and going to her room. "Don't just push this aside. I'm trying really hard right now not to yell, and to talk to you calmly and rationally, but if you're going to treat me like a child I will yell."

"Rory, I like you just fine."

"Then why are you trying to get my boyfriend to cheat on me!"

"Look Rory, your boyfriend locks himself in his room, he's not acting like his old self, I want that Finn back."

"And that's my fault? I'm in New Haven Logan. I have no say in what Finn does! I never told him to stop drinking. I can call him and tell him to go get shitfaced if that'll make you feel better, but ultimately it's Finn's decision. I'm his girlfriend, not his wife and not his mother. I don't have a say in anything he does, or decides to do with his life. Finn is a big boy, he doesn't run things past me before doing them, just like he doesn't run them past you. He has his own mind and makes his own decision like everyone else. You decided to fuck some blonde; you don't run it by Finn first do you?"

"No I don't." Logan sighed.

"If Finn decided to not drink as excessively, or not go out with you to some club, it's not because I'm stopping him it's because he doesn't want to. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"So stop blaming me for Finn's attitude and talk to him about it. You're so upset with this supposed 'New Finn' don't you dare blame it on the fact that I'm his girlfriend and I'm the one changing him, because I haven't once told him to change. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"So quit trying to get back at me for something I haven't done, and own up to the fact that you fucked up. If I hear you talked about me behind my back, I won't send Finn to hurt you; I'll fly down to Fiji and kick your ass myself. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal." Logan ground out.

"Now stop sabotaging your guy's trip. And go talk to Finn about what's bugging you. If I have to use this number again Logan I will not be happy."

"Fine."

"Fine, nice talking to you Logan."

"Likewise." Logan muttered, before he heard the dial tone. Looking at his clock, he noticed that it was nearing six in the morning. Deciding he'd take a shower and then talk to Finn he left the room, contemplating the conversation he'd just had with Rory.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Rory stomped out of her room, and glared at her mother. "That boy is infuriating!"

"Finn?"

"Logan!" Rory yelled.

"How bout we go to Luke's and you explain."

"No, to pissed to walk, I need to pace." Rory said, doing just that and pacing in front of the coffee table. Even though she felt a bit better by yelling at Logan she still felt angry. "That asshole put a girl in my boyfriend's room. A girl! Loosen up he says, it was just a joke he says. Then give Finn a beer and watch porn! As if it was that hard to get a guy to loosen up in any other why. He has no consideration for Finn's feelings or Colin's or mine! He's an asshole and I hate him and I want to squeeze the little gnat until his eyeballs just pop out of his ego driven head!" she yelled her voice having gone higher in pitch with every word.

"So…we're talking about Logan right?"

"Yes!" Rory shook her head falling into the chair in the corner with a sigh. "I accept that he doesn't like me, I just…I don't understand why. And it irks me."

"So really you haven't accepted it." Lorelai pointed out.

Rory sighed. "I guess."

"Rory as much I hate to say this, this isn't going to be the only time in your life that you're going to run into people that don't like you. I mean, as a mother, I like to keep my delusions that everyone loves my baby. But there are going to be more times in your life where you're going to meet people who just aren't going to like you and I guess in a way you should thank Logan for preparing you for the future."

"So you mean that there's going to be more times where I'm going to feel this sense of annoyance at not knowing what I've done to make a person hate me."

"Pretty much."

"Well that sucks."

"I'm telling you, you should thank Logan the next time you talk to him."

"If I never talk to him again, it'll be a good thing."

Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, I heard you yelling at him in your room."

Rory sighed feeling a bit lighter. "It felt good, to yell at him. It just…I needed to do it, and he needed to hear it."

"And you so rarely lose your patience; it's why I love it when you do."

"Glad to know I've been your source of entertainment today."

"Oh, you've made my day better." Lorelai smirked. "I had to deal with Michel today."

"Michel? How is my favorite French man?"

"Annoying, and he's going to be part of _The Dragonfly_."

Rory frowned. "I thought he already was."

Lorelai shrugged "We may have been pushing him out."

"Mom!"

"What? It wasn't intentional or anything."

"We've known Michel for years! He has to be part of _The Dragonfly_."

"And that's why he is, we went there with the intention of letting him talk us into it and somehow it got turned into a guilt trip and us begging him to come back," Lorelai sighed. "Geez, this whole work thing is hard."

"This whole relationship thing is hard." Rory muttered.

"Good thing we don't have anything planned for this weekend right?"

Rory bit her lip, "Yeah about that. We're going to Dean's wedding."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Rory sighed and started the story of how she'd been at the gazebo and her battle with the table linens.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey!" Lane chirped as she stepped outside with the phone.

"Hey." Colin smiled. "I'm glad I got to talk to you today."

"Yeah, my mom's out advocating the perils of not going to church."

"Eternal damnation?" Colin asked with a smirk leaving his room and going upstairs.

"Got it in one." Lane laughed.

"And what do I get?" Colin asked bypassing Logan on the couch watching the news highlights.

"Hmm, my new limited edition Queen CD?"

"As if I didn't have it," Colin shook his head as he went outside climbing the steps to go on the top deck. "How about a rain check kiss when I get back."

Lane blushed and bit her lip. "I don't know if I feel comfortable kissing a person who's not my boyfriend, you know eternal damnation isn't just for those anti-church."

Colin laughed and found his opening. They'd been dancing around the subject since he'd left, but they either got interrupted by something that caused their conversation to switch or Lane would start ranting about something and while he loved to hear her rant, he would lose his nerve to ask her by the time they got back to the original topic.

Taking his chance he leaned against the railing looking out to the ocean. "And what if I told you I might be interested in settling down."

Lane laughed. "With who?"

It was Colin's turn to laugh. "You."

"Wow. You're a very funny man Mr. McCrea."

"I'm not joking."

Lane laughed. "You're looking to be the boyfriend of a nineteen year old Korean girl, who is a repressed audiophile still living with her mother, and going to Seventh Day Adventist College, all while secretly drumming in a rock band?"

"Yeah, are you looking to be the girlfriend of a rich and stuck up Hartford boy, who's been kicked out of over ten boarding schools, has too much money to spend and is also a repressed audio file, wishing he could ditch family obligations to play guitar in a rock band?"

"I didn't know you played guitar."

"You never asked." Colin pointed out. "So?"

"So?"

Colin rolled his eyes. "Look, it sucks that I have to ask you this over the phone, but its better this way then in an e-mail. But…Will you be my girlfriend?" before she had a chance to respond he continued. "I mean, I'm not going back to Hartford until a week before school starts next fall, I have this trip, then ditching the guys to roam around Europe with my dad like every summer, father-son thing, and we don't usually get back till the last minute. And that sucks, because even though I haven't known you for that long, I do miss you and I do really like you."

"Wow, and I thought Gilmores were the only ones that could rant like that."

"I rant with the best of them. So?"

Lane sighed. "This situation does suck the big one. But…I like you too. A lot. And I do miss you too. I mean who knows where I'll be this summer, maybe a record label will love us and I'll be on tour and you'll be in Europe and you'll catch a show." Lane sighed wishing that was true "But, that doesn't change the fact that I like you, and we have _a lot _in common, including great taste in best friends."

Colin laughed. "We do have that."

"So…I guess my answer is…"

"LANE!"

Lane looked up and saw her mother power walking towards her. "Oh crap."

"Lane?" Colin asked

"Mom alert. I got to go."

"Wait!"

Lane smiled. "Yes." she hung up before hiding the phone in the flower pot standing up to meet her mother.

Colin smiled at the phone before closing it and turning, He jumped when he saw Logan standing at the deck. "Hey."

"Hey." Logan nodded leaning against the rail next to him, his back to the ocean. "Lane?"

"Uh…yeah." Colin stuck his phone in his pocket. "I caught her just before her mom got home."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Colin cleared his throat. "Did you need something or…?"

"No…uh yeah, I was going to ask if you wanted coffee?"

"Um yeah, that'd be great thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." Logan walked back towards the steps and went down, Colin following him after a few minutes. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Finn sitting at the table, nursing a cup of tea, while Logan started the coffee.

"Morning." Finn muttered his eyes still half closed.

"Morning." Colin said sliding in the seat across from him. "How'd you sleep?"

Finn shrugged. "Fine, you?"

"I think I'll sleep a bit lighter tonight."

Finn laughed. "You asked her?"

Colin nodded. "She said yes."

They heard the cabinet slam shut, both turning to see Logan staring at the wood, Finn turned back to Colin. "How do you feel?"

Colin shrugged. "Great, I mean, I know we haven't really known each other long, but she's great. I really like her and who knows it may last years, or weeks, but knowing Lane she'll be amazing."

"What about sex?" Finn laughed. "Can you handle being celibate?"

"If you can I can." Colin teased, turned back to Logan. "Coffee ready?"

"Few minutes." Logan grumbled leaning against the counter, keeping his gaze averted.

Colin smirked, still turned towards Logan. "I…uh…I heard Rory yelling at you last night."

Logan looked up. "What?"

"Went to use the bathroom last night, heard you talking on the phone, heard Rory's name, I can only assume she was yelling at you."

Logan rubbed the back of her neck while Finn straightened in interest but kept his gaze on his tea. Logan sighed. "Uh yeah. Really reamed into me, kept talking over me. She said she'd give me a chance to talk, but hung up before I could explain."

"Not that you had much to explain." Finn muttered.

Logan nodded. "No, I guess I didn't have much to explain. What I did was stupid of me, and I'm sorry for it."

"No you're not." Finn said finally looking up to eye his best friend. "You're just saying that so that when I talk to Rory, I'll tell her what you said and you can avoid another conversation with her."

Logan smirked. "She scares me man."

Finn laughed and nodded slightly. "She scares me a bit too." he looked up at his friend seriously. "But I really like her."

"I know." Logan nodded pouring the coffee and going over to the booth sitting next to Colin setting down both mugs. "Look it's going to take me some time to get use to girls being in our life permanently, not sporadically like it use to be."

Finn sighed. "I realize that Logan, but Rory's not going anywhere anytime soon. I hope that you can really accept that, not just tell me and Colin you do but really accept her and Lane because like it or not we've got girlfriends Logan and we like it."

"You really haven't gotten to know the girls Logan." Colin told him. "Rory is perfect for Finn she keeps him level and Lane, well I've never met a person more matched for me then Lane. She knows who The Kinks are."

Logan laughed. "Yeah, I get that, just…give me some time and I'll try not to keep ruining this trip."

"Great." Finn nodded. "Now I'm going to go get dressed, need to go drop off that P.O. Box application. I'll be back in a few hours." He said getting up; downing the rest of his tea and putting it in the sink before going to his bedroom.

He grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor, and put them on, before grabbing an undershirt and putting that on. It was too hot outside for a regular shirt so he grabbed his wallet and phone before going back up. Colin and Logan were still in the kitchen, so he left without a word, them already knowing where he was going.

He jogged off the gangplank, and towards town, happy to get air into his system. The yacht was starting to get to him, he was one of those people that needed to stay active, and since half the activities he usually did to keep moving had to be taken off his list due to his taken status, he had to find some other way to move around.

Walking into the post office he got in line behind a young woman holding a box and stuffed his hands in his pockets rocking back on his heels.

He'd need to look up jogging routes soon. He needed to work off his sexual frustration somehow and taking it out on someone was not an option anymore. Five minutes later he turned in the application and had paid the fee. Walking out of the post office stuffing the three keys in his pocket he went towards the beach, smiling at the couples that were walking around.

Sitting down he slipped of his sandals and dug his toes in the sand before texting Rory the address of the P.O. Box, then calling his father.

"Hello?"

"Dad." Finn smiled.

"Finn! Son! How are you?"

"I'm fine, in Taveuni right now, needed a break so I decided to call."

"Good to hear son, got to say Friday night is not the same without you."

Finn laughed and looked down at his black nails. The polish had worn off awhile ago. "I'll paint them tonight if it makes you feel better."

"A bit."

Finn frowned and smiled lightly as he got an idea. "Dad, how would you feel if I sent Rory down there tomorrow for brunch? You can talk and it'll make up for the fact that I'm not there for Friday night guy night. I bet she'll even let you paint her nails."

"I don't know." Roland said hesitating. "A girl?"

Finn laughed. "She'll be a perfect temporary replacement and she adores you as you adore her."

"Well as long as she doesn't do it out of pity, I guess that's fine." Roland pouted. Finn laughed and looked down at the ocean. "Are you enjoying your trip son?"

Finn shrugged and grabbed a handful of sand before letting it fall from his fingers. "I guess."

"What's wrong? Missing your sheila?"

Finn smiled "That's half of it, and I guess the trip's not as great as we made it out to be. Logan's a bit bitter now that Colin and I have settled down."

"Colin? Really?" Roland asked in surprise.

Finn laughed. "Yes, Colin too with Rory's best friend Lane. They're great together dad."

"I'm glad. So Logan…"

Finn sighed. "He's my best friend dad, and he says he's going to try, but…I just have this feeling he's saying that to get over this fight we're all having. I don't know, part of me wants to come home, and another part of me wants to get Colin and our stuff, rent a yacht and just do this trip our way. Let Logan fend for himself. Then another part…"

"You have a lot of parts son."

Finn laughed. "The last part of me, just keeps hearing Rory's voice telling me to work everything out with Logan."

"I would listen to the Rory voice. She's a wise young lady."

"That she is." Finn sighed. "Thanks dad."

"For what?"

"Listening to me."

"Part of the job as your father son, now tell Rory I expect her bright and early for brunch."

Finn smiled. "I think I can do you one better. I'll talk to you later all right dad?"

"All right and son?"

"Yeah?"

"Enjoy your trip; don't let Logan ruin it for you."

"Thanks." Finn said feeling lighter since he'd talked to his father. He hung up the phone before dialing Rory.

"Hey love."

"Hey Finn."

He could hear the smile on her face and couldn't help the one that moved onto his. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."

"Of course, what's up?"

"My dad's feeling kind of lonely with me out here, I usually spend one day a week down there and he redoes my nails."

Rory laughed. "So what are you thinking?"

Finn winced. "As weird as it sounds, you mind spending the night over there with him? We usually just sit around the living room talking, and watching movies."

"Like a girl's night?"

"No it's not a girl's night."

"You paint each other's nails, you talk and share your feelings and watch movies, it's a girl's night." She teased

"I said nothing about sharing feelings." He said. "I said we talked."

Rory laughed. "I would love to spend the night over at your dads. He has better color nail polish then I do anyway. He never told me where he got that purple I saw at the party."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Rory said softly. "Let him know I'll go after the town meeting so around seven."

"I'll do that." Finn nodded, hearing her soft sigh he smiled "I miss you too."

Rory laughed. "I love that you read my mind."

"And love?"

"Yes?"

"Feel free to steal my shirts."

Rory laughed. "Goodbye Finn."

"Bye love." He said before hanging up. He looked out on the ocean with a smile, defiantly feeling lighter, before grabbing his shoes and walking back towards the yacht.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Rory pulled up to the Rothschild residence an hour and a half late. She parked in front of the garage, and grabbed her bag, making sure she had everything before getting out of the car, locking and making her way to the door.

She gave the door a few knocks while searching her bag for her pajamas. "Crap." She muttered as the door opened.

"Rory?"

She looked up and smiled. "Roland, I am so sorry I'm late, our town meeting ran later then it usually does, and then there was a situation with Kirk holding Lane's band hostage because he thought they were breaking in, and then Taylor the idiot…."

"Whoa." Roland said laughing and letting her inside. "I didn't realize you were late."

"You didn't?" she asked as he led her to the living room where _Haunted Mansion_ was paused.

"I wasn't expecting company." He said waving his hand down to show his black silk pajamas. "Finns said you'd be over for brunch."

Rory laughed. "Finn told me to come over to tonight."

"_I'll do you one better_." Roland muttered shaking his head. "My son really does worry about me. Well I'd love the company."

"Oh great, for a minute I thought you'd send me back home."

"Of course not." Roland laughed leading her towards the stairs. "Now since I'm in my pajamas I'll let you get into yours and we'll reconvene down here for some movies."

"Yeah." Rory laughed as she followed Roland up. "I forgot my pajamas in my rush to get here I stuffed in two pairs of jeans a tank top and the movies I thought you'd enjoy."

"Not a problem." He laughed waving his hand. "I'm sure Finn has a shirt and some pants that'll fit you."

Rory smiled at the thought as he led her down the hallways and opened the door at the end. "You'll sleep here,"

Rory bit her lip and looked inside. She knew instantly who's room it was, she turned to Roland who was looking at her with a smile. "Finns room right?"

"Finn sounded like he missed you terribly when I talked to him earlier. So I can only imagine how you're feeling."

"I miss him. A lot." She admitted.

"Go ahead and raid his drawers. Meet me downstairs when you're ready."

"Thanks."

Roland smiled. "I think we're going to have fun tonight."

"So do I." Rory laughed as he closed the door behind him. She set her bags down on the bed and looked around the room. She knew he didn't stay here often, he'd told her as much. His nights were spent at Yale and only every other Friday and Saturday night were spent in this house, and most of the time he and his father ended up sleeping in the living room instead of making it into bed.

She looked around the room, it was defiantly Finn. Without the mess of course, she thought as she noticed the navy blue bedspread laid out the pillows plumped and covered in black satin pillow cases.

Walking over to the dresser she noted that the top was covered in loose pictures, some of them from the summer at Martha's Vineyard. Her fingers traced his face, the face she saw every morning in the picture she kept on her nightstand by her bed.

Not bothering to feel awkward, she opened the first drawers and saw his socks all out of pairs and loose in the drawer, shaking her head she opened the next ones and saw his undershirts, she took one out and gripped it in her hand, before opening the third drawer and finding his boxers. Biting her lip she grabbed a pair of blue plaid ones, hoping Roland wouldn't find her weird for wearing them and went to the bed to change.

She placed her cloths on the bed folding them before changing into the undershirt and boxers and grabbing the movies she's stuffed in her bag before leaving the room. Rushing down the stairs, she saw Roland clearing the coffee table; he smiled at her as she came down and motioned her to sit down across from him on the other side of the table as he set down a manicure set.

"I was about to start on my nails, they're getting dreadful, but we'll do yours first, I love working on someone else's nails and yours…" he took her hand and studied her nails. "Are worse than mine, you bite."

"When I'm nervous, bored, anxious, pretty much whenever I'm awake." Rory laughed, causing Roland to chuckle as he un-paused the movie.

Rory frowned as she watched _Haunted Mansion_ play out on the screen. "I wouldn't take you for an Eddie Murphy fan."

Roland laughed as he took out his nail file. "I'm a fan of the old Eddie Murphy; _Raw, Delirious, Trading Places, _pretty much everything up until after _Nutty Professor_."

"_Shrek?"_

"I'll give him _Shrek_" Roland laughed.

"So what's with _The Haunted Mansion_?"

"It's on my DVR, solely for mocking reasons." Roland told her, causing her to nod.

"Totally know what you mean." Rory laughed.

"So tell me about yourself Rory."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well Finn's told me the basics of course, hometown, age, what your studying and where, but I want to know the juicy stuff."

Rory smiled. "Like what? Previous boyfriends? Speeding tickets?"

"Do you have speeding tickets?" Roland asked with a smirk.

Rory sighed "One, but it wasn't my fault! The guy in front of me was going twice as fast as I was."

Roland laughed. "It's never our fault."

"Roland! How many speeding tickets have you given?"

Roland smirked as he dug through the nail polish in his bin, "I'm lucky enough to be able to woo both the females and the male officers, so none."

"Oh if only I had that power."

"You do." Roland told her, patting her hand, "You just have to find your inner vixen, which I sure, with you being around Stephanie so much, it'll come out soon enough." He pushed the bin towards her. "Now pick a color."

She looked in the bin and dug around. "How did you get so many colors?"

Roland shrugged. "Mostly Finn and Shelby, I get darker colors for my personal pleasure and if I'm going to be in meetings with associates that aren't as comfortable with my lifestyle I go more towards the clear or skin tone colors. Finn and Shelby get me the more bright colors, so I've gotten quite the collection."

"I can see that," she said with a smile handing him a deep purple "Footloose that sounds like a fun one."

"So what about best friends?"

Rory shrugged. "Before this summer I would have answered my mom and Lane, but since this summer I don't think I can pick just them as my best friends. Steph, Tristan, Colin, even Paris in her own twisted way, have all become my best friends. It's hard to pick just one."

"No one, as much as they say they do, has just one best friend; I noticed you left Finn and Logan off that list of friends."

"Finn, I can defiantly consider one of my best friends, but I think as my boyfriend he's in a different category all together, as for Logan…well I'm not inviting him to sleepover anytime soon."

"Finn told me you two don't get along." Roland said as he painted her nails.

"I don't know what it is about me that he doesn't like, I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything, but I haven't done anything that would have make him hate me to the extent he does."

"It's nothing you've done Rory." Roland told her, starting on the other hand. "Logan has his own family obligations on his mind. I don't put pressures on Finn, mostly because he's not my first born, and even if he was, I wouldn't push him to do what I wanted him to do. He's got his own dreams and aspiration and I'm not one to tell him he can't go out and do them. Colin's family is the same way, only instead of breeding Colin to be a lawyer; law has always been his interest, so he doesn't mind joining the family business. He and his father, while they're not close like Finn and I, they do have a relationship that consists of them traveling Europe for three months, and catching up. It works for them, and Colin doesn't feel the family obligation lurking in the back of his mind."

"And Logan does?"

Roland sighed as he blew air across her nails and leaned back against the couch. "Mitchum means well as well as Elias and Shira in her own way, and I know they only want the best for Logan, but the Huntzberger's aren't convinced that a female heir would go over well with the company, so as much as Honor would love to take over, she's been delegated to be a trophy wife, and Logan's been thrust as the male and set heir to the Huntzberger wealth."

"But isn't that what he wants?"

"Don't judge Logan to harshly Rory, while he might enjoy the family business, he doesn't enjoy being forced into it and being reminded everyday by his parents what he's meant to become and what he's meant to do to achieve it."

"That doesn't explain his animosity towards me though."

Roland bit the inside of his cheek before speaking. "You know when Finn asked me to go on this trip, I had to remind him that the last time he and the boys had taken the yacht out it had ended with him in the emergency room with his head split wide open. It wasn't until he explained to me that starting their senior year Logan wouldn't be able to hang out like he use to. See Finn, before I bought the hotel, didn't have plans for after college, he was getting his business degree but wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Colin was going to go to Yale Law, but was going to stay in New Haven, as well as Finn. Logan…"

"Was going straight to work." Rory finished.

"Still is." Roland pointed out. "The Huntzberger's gave Logan a choice. Either go this year with his friends, or wait until they graduated and take the summer to travel."

"Logan chose the year."

Roland nodded. "He chose a few months later when I showed Finn the plans for the hotel he'll be taking over this summer. Finn whether he admits it or not loves the business his family has created and I think Logan saw it too. He realized that by the end of their senior year their trip wouldn't happen, Colin would be traveling with his dad and Finn would probably follow me around to learn the ins and outs. This trip was their last hurrah."

"But it's not like I'm there telling Finn what to do, or delegating their activities, or ruining their fun."

"But Colin and Finn aren't focused on the objective Logan had originally had for the trip. This trip was meant for boozing, womanizing, and stupid stunts and as Logan watches Finn get one step closer to growing up and watches Colin accept his fate with open arms, Logan finds he's the only one fighting the fate he's been pushed into. So yes, you may not be the cause of Finn and Colin's distraction, but you are a factor. I know my son doesn't allow anyone, least of all you or myself, to delegate his life; if he wants to change he'll do it because he wants to not because someone makes him. So if Logan sees a change in my son, which I know he does, because I hear the change in him myself, it's not our doing its Finn's. Logan just doesn't want to accept that he's losing one of his best friends to a girl. A girl my son happens to love."

Rory blushed and watched as he grabbed the clear coat of polish. "Love, it's such an elusive thing for men of our wealthy stature, women too. So when they find it they tend to fear it. I did. Though I believe it had more to do with my repulsion of women then it did my idea of love." He said wistfully cause Rory to laugh.

"Finn doesn't seem to fear it." Rory pointed out

"Because he has you, you grew up with love and believe in it. It's more real to you then…this table." He said knocking on the wood. "I love my son, I love my daughters, I don't love my ex-wife, believe me, and there is no love lost between us. She's a homophobic bitch that clearly only wanted me for the name and status it came with. But…for all her faults and all our mistakes, we love our children. But Finn grew up with the idea that love wasn't forever."

"Same with Colin."

"Ah," he laughed. "So you've heard of the McCrae wives?"

"Colin mentioned some."

"Andrew adores Colin, ignores him for most of the year, but those three months they travel together, is probably the happiest I see my friend Andrew. Colin is his only child, and for that he tends to dote on Colin, he lavishes his young wives with attention for the year, summer is for his son, it's always worked that way, but the wives are ever changing and Colin also grew up with the idea that love wasn't forever."

"Logan's parents are still together."

"Logan's parents are the perfect example of a Hartford couple." Roland laughed. "Though the Huntzberger's are friends, they're the reason Logan fears love just as much as any child. His parents may have loved each other, but it's faded with the years that Mitchum has worked and years Shira has smoked away. Logan sees that their stuck and it's too late to end the relationship and he's able to see how they use each other, Mitchum for Shiras looks and the way she upholds their name and the fact that she bore an heir and Shira for the power and status and Huntzberger comes with. Finn, he looks at you and forgets what he grew up with and realizes that maybe all love isn't like that. Colin looks at Lane and sees the same thing. That love may be able to last for the long haul, that maybe, just maybe, they've found that person that will love them for who they are, not ask them to change and not use them for their money and name."

"But what about Tristan and Stephanie? I mean from the stories I've heard, Tristan's family life was worse than Logan's and Stephanie's mother and father are no picnic."

"Ah but Tristan and Stephanie see something in each other, that helps them deal with the love issue. They know what the other deals with, there's no fear of being used, or being asked to change or not being accepted because they come from the same background and that's what makes them work."

"Finn tells you everything doesn't he?" Rory laughed.

Roland laughed with her. "That and those kids have spent so much time in this house that I've seen them grow up and I know how they are. I was dubbed the 'cool dad' when Finn hit middle school, so I had adolescents all over this place"

Roland sighed as he leaned back again. "I understand that Logan does or says things that you might take personally, and I know Finn takes personally, but at least now you know where it might be coming from. But hey for all I know the reason I just gave you is completely and utter bullshit and the real reason is because Logan wants you for his own just doesn't know how to fight for you."

"I like the 'he's a poor soul' reason better."

Roland nodded with a smirk. "So do I."

"So Finn's never been in with a girl where he thought of love as…un-elusive?"

Roland shrugged. "Not that I've seen, he's never really brought a girl home, He's brought them to parties, but they'd never let me do their nails."

Rory looked down at her nails and smile. "Well you're welcome to do mine at any time."

"So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you ever been within arm's reach of that thing we like to call love?"

Rory smiled as she pushed the bin towards Roland, "Choose your color, I'll choose the movie."

"Ah, avoidance."

"Is this even proper sleepover conversation with a boyfriend's father?"

Roland scoffed as he dug through the bin, he'd have to choose something other than black. Black was for father-son bonding, looked like Spearmint Pearl was a good son's girlfriend-father bonding color. "I don't know, how many sleepovers have you had with your boyfriends fathers?"

"I'd have to say this is my first, and not at all awkward like I thought it would be." She took the small bottle from his hand and smiled "Oh I like it," she said looking at the brighter teal color

"I would choose black but…"

"That's more of a Finn and you thing."

"He's told you."

"He was complaining about the fact that his nail polish had chipped on one of the e-mails he sent and hated doing it himself."

"Mm, he gets frustrated when one hand comes out better than the other. So…you haven't answered my question."

"And what was that question?" Rory asked starting on his right hand.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Rory bit her lip. "I thought I was. I think every girl believes they love their first boyfriend, and there's the lucky few that actually do find their soul mate in their first. I didn't."

"But you loved him."

Rory bit her lip. "With some part of my heart I did. I don't know, I thought I loved Dean, my first boyfriend, and I thought I could have loved Jess, my second boyfriend, had it not ended the way it did but with Finn, everything is so amplified and confusing. Everything I thought I knew about loving someone was changed with Finn."

"You love him?"

Rory laughed. "I couldn't even tell Dean I loved him after three months together, and now, it's been almost two months and I'm ready to tell him. I'm dying to, and for some reason it doesn't feel soon, it doesn't feel rushed."

"But…"

"But…it does feel too soon and it does feel rushed and even though it feels right, I don't think Finn is ready to hear those words."

"You'd be surprised, Rory, at what Finn is ready to hear." Roland winked causing her to laugh.

"He is so much like you, it's amazing. I think maybe that's why I feel so comfortable with you."

He smiled as she painted his nails with ease as _Juno_ played in the background. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, after breakfast I have to go back home and get ready for a wedding, then after that I have no idea."

"Wedding?"

"Mmm," she nodded. "Dean's."

"Dean's." he muttered, "You're ex-boyfriend?" he asked.

She blew lightly on his nails before leaning back on her hands to let them dry, before nodding. "Yeah, we're sort of friends; I don't know it was all sort of weird. I ran into him earlier today when I went to go visit Lane, literally, ran into him. And we started talking, and well, since he and the bride are practically taking over the center of the town with their wedding, it came up. He invited my mom and me."

"And you're going?"

Rory shrugged. "I guess, I mean…what's the protocol when you're ex-boyfriend gets married?"

"Do you get along with the bride?"

"She bought me a magnet on a school trip."

"When was this?" he laughed.

"Elementary school." Rory shrugged. "I don't know, I guess things with Lindsey and me are awkward." She sighed. "I guess things with me and Dean are awkward if I'm being honest."

"Does Finn know?"

"That things with me and my ex are awkward?"

Roland shook his head with a laugh. "No, that you're going to the wedding?"

"I told him, he seemed okay with it, though he was half asleep at the time."

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I guess?"

"That's not very convincing love."

Rory laughed. "I think the part that's telling me not to go, is the part that disagrees with the whole union?"

"Jealously?"

"Oh no!" she denied quickly. "I just don't see why they're getting married so young. Dean only got together with her a year in a half ago, and even though it's a small town, I think it's too soon, too young. Dean has so much potential and I really don't think he's going to be able to achieve it if he's married."

"Marriage has an upside."

"Yes, but only if you're ready for it, now hands on the table."

Roland did as she asked, as she grabbed the clear coat. "May I offer you some advice?"

"If I say no, you're still going to tell me aren't you?"

"Probably." Roland shrugged.

"Then go ahead."

"I think that if you're so opposed to the union you shouldn't go."

"I want to support him though and wouldn't it be rude not to show up after I said I would."

"Not necessarily, it was last minute so it's not like he can blame you for not going."

"There's more to your little advice isn't there?"

Roland sighed, might as well be honest with the girl, he thought "With the awkwardness on his part that you're telling me about, and the bride not liking you, I think he may have some left over feelings for you."

"No." Rory said waving off the suggestion. "No, no, no, Dean and I broke up almost three years ago, there can't be feelings left."

"Don't you still feel something for him?"

"Well sure, but…"

"Ah…but you broke up three years ago and you still feel something, it disproves your point."

"I guess…" she trailed off.

"I'm not telling you not to go Rory," he said quickly, not wanting to offend her or overstep his bounds. "Look, if by the time the wedding rolls around tomorrow and you still have those torn feelings, don't go but if you're there to support his decision as a friend wholeheartedly then go. Don't go with half a feeling Rory, they don't need that on their wedding day, I'm pretty sure their parents about to happy about this anyway."

"I guess."

"You'll think about it?"

Rory bit her lip and nodded. "I will defiantly think about it."

"Good." He stood up shaking his hands and blowing on them. "Now I'm going to go put one of those microwavable pizzas in the oven, then we're going to start this movie night officially."

Rory laughed as she watched him go, before it clicked. "You have pizza?!" she asked standing up and following him.

_**XxxxxxX**_

"His dad stockpiles frozen pizzas." Rory said as she sat on Lane's bed.

"I can't believe you spent the night with Finn's dad." Lane whispered as she pulled on a "Jesus is love" shirt.

"When you put it that way it sounds dirty!" Rory said with a laugh. "Either way around 3 in the morning I ended up in Finn's bed."

"How was that like?"

"Made me miss him even more." Rory sighed. "His bed smelled so much like him."

"Well obviously he sleeps in it."

"I ended up stealing like five of his shirts."

Lane laughed as she pulled on her shoes. "You're kidding?"

"No, I stuffed them in my duffle bag with my clothes in strategic parts so that his smell rubs off on my cloths and I end up smelling like him to. Oh god I'm turning into a freak."

Lane laughed. "No worse than my hair touching days. Okay let's go."

Rory got off the bed and followed silently after Lane down the stairs. They walked out the door without alerting Mrs. Kim of their presence.

"So all in all good night?"

Rory shrugged. "I got some insight on why Logan might hate me, so yeah I guess. What about you?"

"Well, I am officially off the market."

Rory squealed and hugged her friend. "He asked?!"

"Yeah, did you know he plays guitar?"

"No idea." Rory laughed.

"He's amazing Rory and hey, at least now we're both in long distance relationships so we can bitch to each other."

"Very true." Rory said with a nod. "And guitar practices?"

"Ugh don't even get me started." Lane said. "No one is as good a Dave and I don't think we'll ever find anyone."

"So, a total strikeout, huh?"

"Total and, you know, at first, I felt bad for them, so lacking in talent, yet so clueless. Then I just felt bad for their guitars."

Rory shook her head. "Where are all the good young musicians these days?"

"Fiji apparently."

Rory laughed. "Hey, he might be able to play but who said it's good."

"True." Lane nodded. "I'm gonna head to the music store real quick, look at things I can't afford, again. Wanna come?"

"Nah, I have to go stop mom from buying a salad spinner."

"So you're really not going huh?"

Rory shrugged. "It's just not right you know? If I don't support the marriage in its entirety its best I don't send my negative vibes out there."

"Since when did you start believing in negative vibes?"

"Ugh, since last night when Roland dared me to eat a tube of cookie dough that was stuffed with Jelly Belly's and not the regular Jelly Belly's either, those Harry Potter ones, with flavors like booger and ear wax."

"Ew."

"Yeah, worst part; I can't even remember what caused us to even do that."

Lane laughed. "Well you go stop Lorelai, I'm gonna go into a self induced depression."

"Have fun." Rory called as lane turned to go.

"Yeah you too." Lane called back. Rory turned away and was about to walk towards the store her mother had said she would be when she saw Luke come out of Doose's. She smiled at him and waved.

"Hey Luke."

"Hey Rory, um, where's your mom?"

"Uh, around somewhere, why?"

"I thought I'd find her at Doose's. Did she go back to the inn, or…" he trailed off, Rory frowned as she noticed the way he was shifting nervously, and avoiding eye contact, much like the way he was acting when he was hiding the fact that Jess was no longer in Stars Hollow.

"She was going to go back to the inn and then was picking up a wedding present for Dean but…"

"She have her cell on her?" Luke cut off

"I think it's dead. What's going on?"

"Or a pager or something?"

"Is something wrong Luke?" Rory asked with a frown

"Don't go to the wedding." Luke blurted out.

Rory took a step back. "What?"

"Uh, don't go to Dean's wedding."

"Why?" she asked, she'd already planned on not going, but if Luke was telling her not to go, then something was up.

"I just…don't go. Trust me."

"Okay." Rory said slowly. "I had already decided not to go. I was actually trying to find mom before she found a present for them."

"That's good, that's very good, it's better that way."

"Okay."

"So you're not going?" he asked again, making sure.

"Nope."

"Good, I'll see you guys later."

"Yeah Luke, I'll see you later." Rory nodded.

"Okay." He said patting her arm awkwardly before going back to the diner, Rory frowned after him before shaking her head.

"Well that was weird." She muttered, before walking off to find her mom. A few minutes later she found her mom walking down the sidewalk with a wrapped present in her hands.

"Darn I'm too late."

"With what, sweets?"

"You got a present."

"Yeah and I think I found the perfect one. It's sweet, not too personal, classy, yet cheap."

"We're not going." Rory said.

"What?" Lorelai asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Finn's dad and me talked about it last night, and I think it's best if I just skip out on this one, that and Luke was looking for you and ran into me, and he was all nervous and everything, and then he finally just said we shouldn't go."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we're not going."

"Did he give a reason?"

"Yeah Roland said that if I were to go then I'd should go support this marriage wholeheartedly and I don't, so I think it's best if I sit it out."

"Not Roland, though he is a very wise man, Luke."

"Oh, no, not really."

"Hmm, that's weird."

"He seemed pretty serious and I think if you saw him you'd feel the same way. Luke was kind of upset."

"About the wedding?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai sighed. "So we're not going?"

Rory shrugged. "I've decided its better we don't."

"Okay, mystery though, the Luke part, not the Roland part."

"Yeah."

"Well, at least you've got your nothing-to-do weekend back."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I did didn't I." she frowned when she heard the sound of an electric car following them, turning she saw Kirk following them in a small one seat car.

"Um…mom, Kirks following us in a little clown car."

Lorelai smiled and looked back at him before wrapping her arm around her daughter. "He's watching out for us."

"Okay." Rory laughed.

"So what are you going to do?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know, Finn doesn't wake up for another three hours I think I might just hang out at the house, do laundry and head back to Yale. If all else fails, Steph and Tristan will want to do something."

"Very true."

Rory turned back to Kirk then at her mom, "As much as I like that Kirk is watching out for us, it's a little creepy him following us like this."

"Just a little." Lorelai admitted, "But very sweet."

"Very, so what are you doing?"

"Well after beating on Taylor, yelling at Luke and having an epiphany and what it means to be a business owner all with one cup of coffee and at six in the morning, _The Dragonfly_ is officially able to go into its remodeling stages tomorrow."

"Oh mom that's great!"

"Amazing kid. So Michel, Sookie and I were going to head over there after the wedding and really nail down some plans, but since I'm not going anymore, I think we might just go do that now, I mean unless you want to do something."

"No," she said as they reached the house. "You go. I'll be fine. I'll put on my pajamas, do my whites, and watch some movies before waking up the boyfriend."

"All right." Lorelai smiled at Kirk. "You can go now Kirk."

"You sure? I can stay and patrol the area."

"I'm sure Kirk. Thank you."

"Not a problem Lorelai." Kirk said tipping his hat before driving away.

"I don't even know where to start with that guy." Lorelai said with a shake of her head.

"He means good." Rory shrugged. "Now go."

"All right all right, Hey, I was in your room looking for some socks, and your duffle was open, what's with all the guy's undershirts?"

Rory laughed. "It's a long story."

"You miss Finn."

"Apparently not that long and I got permission to steal them, so technically not stealing but borrowing."

"Hm." Lorelai said as she got in the Jeep. "I'll see you later babe, if you decide to go back to Yale early, give me a call okay?"

"You got it."

Lorelai blew her a kiss before backing out of the driveway. Rory looked up at the house, and not wanting to go in just yet started walking back into town, before she knew it, she was leaning up against a tree, watching the doors to the church.

She knew she didn't like Dean the way she had when she was sixteen, not anymore, she was with Finn, wholeheartedly and without any lingering feelings for any of her boyfriends. But, she thought as she watched as Dean and Lindsey ran out of the church laughing and hugging, and finally kissing in front of their guests, she couldn't help but feel sadness for Dean and the potential he had that she knew would be pushed aside.

Biting her lip she looked at the ground kicking the sole of her shoe into the dirt before looking up again and smiling slightly at the quick vision of her in a wedding dress and Finn in a tux and them kissing in front of all their guests. Shaking her head she saw Dean and Lindsey again, heading towards the gazebo for the reception.

"Too fast Rory." She said to herself. "You haven't even told him you love him." She turned away and feeling her pocket vibrate, taking her phone out, she smiled.

"Speak of the devil." She said.

Finn laughed. "Were you speaking about me love?"

"Thinking, does that still count?"

"Only if you were thinking good things."

"Mmm, very good." She admitted.

"So…"

"So…"

"I talked to my dad."

Rory laughed. "And what'd he say?"

"That you left the house with half my underwear drawer!" he accused.

"One it was only five shirts and a pair of your boxers and two you gave me permission."

"Very true," he laughed. She smiled widely at the sound of his laughter, with a quick glace she turned and saw the couple sharing a kiss, shaking her head she felt nothing but happiness at hearing Finn's voice, she really felt nothing for her ex and that made her feel lighter.

"Love?" he asked.

"Sorry Finn, I'm here." She smiled before turning back to the phone call and home. "I'm right here."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

_**A.N: **_Holy crap, one year exactly five days ago and it hit a year since this has been updated. I actually had this chapter finished about two months ago, but some stuff came up and I wasn't able to edit and post it till now. Just know that I edited this myself so if there are errors, just let me know and I'll fix them, I read it through like three times, but I can't always catch everything.

This chapter was hard to write, only cause I knew after this chapter I was going to start deviating off the transcripts in big ways and once I know what I want to happen in the future it's hard for me to get back in the present and finish what I started in order to get to where I'm excited to get.

The next chapter I have able two thirds of the way finished. I've decided to split what I already have in half to post it next week, so the next three chapters I've been excited to write for some time. It really shows that it's not all ups for Rory and Finn and long distance relationships aren't meant to be easy, no matter what you do to ease the other person.

I do want you all to know that I have a new website that I am in fact up-keeping this time, and it has photo galleries of all the multi-chapter, stories I've posted, including this one. The galleries are still under construction, turns out half the pictures I had for stories, got lost so I've been slowly going back and finding the clothes and as a bonus stories are being reedited, little by little.

The link is on my profile. Also I have a twitter, for all you Tweets out there, it's under PDLDRogan, I'm quite obsessed with it and updated it constantly, with random stuff as well as when I post and when I put up pics in the gallery, or when I update my blog.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think, and have a fantastic week (for all you guys starting school on Monday…I feel your pain and I send everyone great first day vibes!)

Kassandra

P.S. This is for Flynn who I hope feels better soon because I miss her like hell!!


	17. New Friends All Around

_**Part 17: New Friends All Around**_

"Hey!" Rory said getting out of her car and walking towards her mom who was kneeling on the ground digging.

"Hi." Lorelai greeted, smiling at her daughter.

"What are you doing?" Rory frowned going over and looking at the ground.

"Well…I'm gardening."

"What are you doing?" Rory asked, looking at her mother in disbelief.

"I'm gardening."

"I'm sorry, what are you doing?"

Lorelai waved her over, "Why don't you come over here and see, honey, since you seem so confused?"

"Oh my god, you _are_ gardening."

"Yeah, hello, I'm gardening." Lorelai said gesturing to the holes she'd been digging for the past half hour.

"Why?"

"Because Babette bought me a bag of bulbs." Lorelai said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world

"Why _would_ she do that?" Rory asked, kneeling next to her mom. Everyone in Stars Hollow knew her mother didn't have a green thumb and that all the plants they'd ever kept in the house were fake and the ones outside only thrived because Babette was the one that took care of them, not them.

"She thought that cultivating new life would help distract me from my current emptiness and sense of loss." Lorelai said with a raised eyebrow, watching her daughter give a slight nod.

"Huh. Well, that's… weirdly sweet of her," she laughed.

"Yes, it was. Anyhow, I forgot about the bulbs 'til Babette brought them up this morning, so I dug them out of the garage." She said holding up the bag of what looked to be large pods that were beginning to mold.

"Ew!"

"Yeah, they've developed some sort of mold."

"This is the planet of the mold!" Rory said taking the bag and wrinkling her nose at it.

"Help me!"

"Mom, I'm no botanist, but I don't think anything's gonna grow from this piece of tar."

"Just put it in the hole and cover it up. How hard is it supposed to be?"

"Why didn't you just throw them out?" Rory asked putting the bag down and looking at her mother in amusement.

"There are eyes everywhere, my dear." Lorelai said waving her shovel in the general direction of the town.

Rory laughed as they heard the door at Babette's house open. "Hey, doll, how you doin'?!" Babette called from her porch.

"Great Babette, just tending my bulbs." Lorelai called back pointing towards the hole she'd made.

"Makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely, much better!" Lorelai humored.

"You need any help?"

"Oh, no, I've got Rory helping me."

"Hi, Babette." Rory called giving a small wave.

"Hi, sugar, don't worry, I'm looking out for your mom."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Oh, and just you wait 'til spring! You're gonna wake up one morning, walk out, and POW …" she said making an exploding motion with her hands. "color coming out of your yin-yang!" she turned and waved. "I'll see you girls tomorrow!"

"Hear that, I'm going to have color coming out of my yin-yang."

Rory shrugged and smiled at her mom. "Well, then maybe you'll finally get a man." Lorelai opened her mouth in shock and amusement, as Rory held up one of the bulbs. "This has got to be the grossest thing ever."

"Forget about the bulbs." Lorelai said waving her hand in dismissal. "Let's talk about something else. How's school?"

"School's fine. It's hard but good. Steph and Tristan are good, they've actually really enjoyed pottery, so Stephanie is always coming back with some new knick knack or another."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, last time it was an ash tray and when I pointed out we didn't smoke she said it was a soup bowl."

Lorelai laughed. "What about everyone else?"

"Janet and Paris are fighting because Janet gets up at 5:30 to go jogging, wakes Paris up, and then the resulting argument wakes everybody up and…" Rory trailed off feeling something crawl up her arm. "OH!" she screamed throwing the bulb and shaking out her arm.

Lorelai screamed as she felt the bulb hit her. "Oh, my god! You bulbed me! You bulbed me!"

"I was aiming over there!" Rory said pointing over her mothers shoulder.

"Oh! Oh my god!" Lorelai said holding up her hand. "It got my hand! It got my hand!"

"Shake it off!" Rory said moving a bit. "Shake it off!"

"Oh! It won't go! It won't go!" Lorelai yelled shaking her hand, before leaning over and wiping it on Rory's shirt.

Rory gasped "You wiped it on my shirt!"

Lorelai laughed. "It was a reflex?"

"To ruin my shirt?"

"I'm sorry."

"You never liked this shirt." Rory accused.

"It's not that. It's just that…"

Rory cut her off with a scream. "There's something crawling up my leg." She said standing up quickly and shaking out her pant leg.

"No no no!" Lorelai yelled hitting her daughter's leg.

"There's something _crawling_ up my leg!" Rory cried shaking her leg out.

"I got it, I got it! Ew! It's big!" She yelled as they both fell to the ground and looked up at the sky to catch their breaths.

"Okay, so the next time that Babette gives you a bag of bulbs to plant because you're lonely, you say…" Rory prompted out of breath.

"No, thank you." Lorelai laughed.

"Class dismissed." Rory said shaking her head.

"So…" Lorelai said turning her head to look at her daughter. "Other than laundry, what are you doing here on a school day?"

Rory sat up slowly making sure, nothing moving was near her. "I'm actually not here for laundry."

"Oh?" Lorelai said sitting up with her, "Then are you here to see my beautiful face?"

"Oh, always." Rory said with a roll of her eyes and she stood up and wiped the dirt off her pants before helping her mother up as well.

"I give up." Lorelai said waving her hand towards the hole she'd been digging in the ground. "Okay other then my beautiful face, why are you here, not that I mind seeing you."

"Finn and I are having a movie night, and he decided on _50 First Dates_, and I know you got it, so I came to get it."

Lorelai stopped as she watched her daughter look through the movies. "You and Finn."

"Yeah," Rory laughed looking back at her mother. "Me and Finn."

"Finn, as in the boyfriend that's across the world."

"No need to remind me." Rory laughed rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, I just…you guys are having a movie night?"

"Steph and Tristan had the same disbelief in their voice when I told them about it. It's not that hard to believe."

"You're boyfriend doesn't live here, how are you having a movie night?"

"Ha! Found it!" she said holding up the DVD.

"Sweetie, explain."

"It's not that hard, Finn and I were talking a few weeks ago, and he felt bad that he couldn't take me out on dates like in a real relationship."

"So you're in a fake relationship?" Lorelai asked with a smirk as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Ha! I said that too." Rory laughed sitting at the table as Lorelai got two bottled waters out of the fridge and handed one to Rory, before sitting down across from her. "No, he meant that if he were here, we'd be going out to dinner, or movies, and doing couple stuff, but because he's not, and we only got in like three official couple dates before he left, he thinks that it shouldn't stop us from doing things like that, so he said we should have movies nights."

"Which is what?"

"It's pretty much us locking ourselves in our room, surrounded by the same food, and pressing play on a movie at the same time." Rory said shyly as she picked the wrapper off her water bottle.

"Aww that's sweet." Lorelai cooed, teasingly.

"I thought so." Rory shrugged, taking her mother's teasing in stride, her friends had done the same thing when she'd explained. "So we had one last week, I got to pick"

"What did you choose?"

"_The Notebook_," Rory laughed. "I wanted to see if he'd sit all the way through it."

"Did he?" Lorelai asked, none of her past boyfriends had at willingly through girly movies. Well, she corrected herself, Christopher had.

"Yes, with a few complaints here and there, but all in all he was good, even sniffled a little at the end, even if he does deny it and this week he picked."

"_50 First Dates_?"

"He got a thing for Drew Barrymore." Rory said with an accepting sigh.

"Oh competition." Lorelai teased.

Rory laughed. "I told him that if he ever had a chance to be one of Drew's boy toys, I would graciously step aside."

"And who's your pick?"

"What?" Rory asked innocently.

"Who would Finn step aside for?" Lorelai clarified with a smirk

"It was a tie between Hugh Grant and Johnny Depp."

"Good picks." Lorelai nodded.

"I thought so, anyways I'm just glad he didn't pick _Showgirls_, though I have a feeling that one is going to come up soon, Tristan's been bugging Steph to rent it and Tristan and Finn talk, so no doubt that'll be the pick in two weeks."

"So everything all right in Fiji?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep, they were out of cell phone range this morning, so he sent an e-mail, he said he and the guys are going whitewater rafting in a few days."

"Oh wow."

"He assures me it's safe, they're going with a guide and everything but…"

"But?" Lorelai prompted.

"Knowing them, they'll probably separate from the guide and do their own thing, getting hurt in the process." Rory said with a casual shrug, though inside she was giddy with nerves at the idea of Finn being hurt. Finn hadn't been the only one to tell her stories of trips past; Colin had had quite a few. Now, every time Finn told her about some day trip they took her stomach would pitch and she found herself hoping that she wouldn't get a phone call telling her he was in the hospital.

"Well, you can't think negatively." Lorelai said. "You'll jinx it with your bad juju."

"True." Rory said taking a drink of water. "I have to get back to school; I'm the only one that's able to mediate between Stephanie, Paris, and Janet."

"Sounds like World War III over there."

"And I'm Switzerland." Rory said with a laugh. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course."

Rory kissed her mother's cheek, before leaving the house, and heading back to school.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Rory pulled her pillow closer as she heard the commotion in the common room in the form of Paris' voice.

"_You could at least open a window!"_

"_Why?"_ Rory heard Janet ask.

"_Because it smells like a locker room in here!"_

"_Tough luck!"_

"_Fine!" _Paris yelled before coming into her and Stephanie's room and slamming the door. Rory winced as she heard Stephanie groan. Rory opened her eyes slowly and looked at her alarm clock reaching for it.

"Did the alarm go off?" she asked.

"I shut it off," Paris said pacing the floor, in the weeks that they'd been living together Stephanie, Paris and Rory had all come to a silent agreement and a pretty good friendship, when Paris wasn't acting crazy, like she was right now.

"I mean, who needs an alarm when you've got workout Barbie around? Never mind that some of us were up finishing a chem. lab 'til 2:30 in the morning! I, for one, love waking up at five a.m. to the sound of someone grunting out crunches in the common room!"

"God, shut up," Stephanie grumbled underneath her mountain of sheets and burrowed down deeper. "Some of us were actually asleep before you came in here!"

"I told you." Rory said to both of them, still reaching for their alarm clock that had been pushed further away from her arm span. "Earplugs."

"You know, she talks to herself when she stretches. 'Come on, Janet.' 'Push it, Janet.' 'Love the pain Janet.' It's pornographic."

"What time is it?" Stephanie groaned sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"I know what she's doing." Paris continued as she continued to pace.

"When did Paris get in here?" Stephanie asked, causing Rory to shake her head and sit up too.

"It's psychological warfare. Don't let your enemy sleep. Push him 'til he cracks. Charlie tried the same tricks on our boy at the Khe Sanh, and let me tell you, if she keeps this up, I am not gonna be responsible for what happens."

Stephanie rolled her eyes as she reached for her phone and gasped. "Oh my god!"

"What?" Rory asked, giving up on the clock.

"Breakfast is over in five minutes!" Stephanie said getting out of bed as Rory followed.

"What?"

"I know," Paris said with a shake of her head. "It's Tuesday too. That's waffle bar day."

"Why didn't you wake us up?!" Rory asked grabbing an old Yale sweatshirt she'd stolen from Finn's closet as Stephanie grabbed her robe and glared at Paris.

"Oh sure, blame me. I'm the victim here, remember?"

"I don't care if you can take me." Stephanie said as she pulled on her slippers. "Turn off our alarm again and I'll start my own psychological warfare." She glared once more before following Rory out of the dorm.

"You're running." Stephanie accused as she rushed after Rory.

"I'm hungry and have class in an hour. We've got to run for waffles."

"Very true." Stephanie said as they rushed into the cafeteria and went to the food bar, groaning in unison as they saw the lunch ladies clearing the area.

"Eggs." Stephanie pointed out as they grabbed the to go boxes and piled in the last of the eggs.

"Oh, oh!" Rory said stopping the lunch lady as she walked by with the last of the waffles. "Sorry excuse me." She said grabbing the last two waffles from the tray and handing one to Stephanie.

"This sucks." Stephanie said as she looked at their pitiful breakfast. "We've got bottom of the trey eggs and the deformed waffles that no one wants."

"Damn Paris." Rory muttered as they started walking to a table.

"Oh," Stephanie said widening her eyes. "So…um…you know how you're robe disappeared after we moved in."

"Yeah it's weird I can't find it anywhere." Rory said then frowned as she looked at Stephanie. "Weird way to change the subject."

"Well see, that party that was on our floor got a bit wild, to the point where this one guy ended up passed out naked outside our door."

"Stephanie! You didn't!"

"And he's walking this way. Marty hey!"

"Hey Stephanie." Marty said timidly. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Well I wasn't the one passed out in the hallway, so I had a better shot." Stephanie teased.

"True, very true, I'm uh…I'm sorry I haven't gotten that robe back to you yet. I didn't think giving back to robe during class was really appropriate so..."

"No, it's not a problem but this is Rory, she's the owner of said robe."

"Nice to meet you…Marty right?"

"Right." He looked down at their plates. "So, I see you guys are a little late for breakfast."

"Our alarm got shut off." Rory admitted.

"Well, I mean if you're hungry I've got food. I always take enough for ten. I blame my brother. He always took the biggest piece of chicken."

"And left you none?" Stephanie asked feeling sorry for him.

"No, there was plenty more. I just really wanted that big piece."

"Oh." Stephanie laughed. "Well…" she looked around and saw Tristan at a table alone, reading a book and his trey still loaded with food. "I actually see my boyfriend and he has food. But we'll take a rain check?"

"Yeah that's great. It was nice meeting you Rory."

"Yeah, you too Marty," Rory smiled as she followed Stephanie. "And keep the robe, as a memento of your first college party."

Marty laughed. "Thanks."

"Sorry, it just slipped my mind," Stephanie said once they were out of ear shot.

"That there was a naked guy in our hallway?" Rory asked as she set her food down across from Tristan. He looked up and smiled, kissing his girlfriend as she sat down next to him.

"Finally told her about the missing robe huh?"

"Ran into Marty." Stephanie said as she stole some waffles and gave two to Rory.

"Yes, please steal my breakfast."

"Hey, you don't have to deal with Paris early in the morning." Rory said stealing some of his sausage too as Stephanie passed her the syrup.

"Are she and Janet fighting again?"

"I swear, Paris is the only one that gets woken up. Rory and I haven't heard a peep coming out of Janet's room."

"I have, I just sleep through it," Rory stated, shoving some sausage into her mouth.

"Oh," Tristan said looking up from his girlfriend as something caught his eye on the other side of the room. "I feel a disturbance in the force."

Stephanie looked up and groaned. "Oh god, he caught sight of us."

"Who?" Rory asked turning in the direction they were looking at.

"Don't you feel the pompousness filling the air?" Stephanie asked.

"His name is Robert Bancroft; he's a friend of Colin's." Tristan laughed as he watched him walk towards the table.

"Robert…" Rory whispered. "Finn told me about him, told me to stay away from him, but I haven't met him."

"Lucky. I have to deal with the ass…" Stephanie smiled and looked up just as Robert reached the table. "Robert, lovely to see you."

"Cut the crap Steph." Robert said with a roll of his eyes. "Tristan."

"Robert." Tristan nodded. "This is…"

"Rory, yes I know, I talk to Colin too," he said turning and looking her up and down. "You're Finn's girlfriend."

"I am. I wasn't aware it was common knowledge."

"In our group it is. May I?" he asked, indicating the seat next to her.

"Um…sure." she eyed Stephanie as she silently groaned and laid her head on Tristan's shoulder. Robert smiled lightly as he sat next to her.

"So Robert, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Tristan asked.

"We're getting together at the pub, first official get together of the year."

"Everyone's here?" Stephanie asked sitting up.

Robert rolled his eyes. "Yes Stephanie, even the girls. Seth and I are starting to plan…" he looked over at Rory who raised her eyebrow. "So we decided to get together on Saturday night at the pub. Apparently Seth is actually attending all of his classes."

"Damn those engineers." Tristan smirked.

"Right, well…" he turned to Rory. "You, of course, are invited Rory."

"Oh no, its fine." Rory laughed. "Finn and I have a date planned."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Right…" he turned back to Stephanie and Tristan. "Count you guys in?"

Stephanie turned to Tristan who nodded at Robert. "Yeah, count us in and add one more, in case Rory ends up coming with."

"Oh but-"

"Consider it done." Robert said cutting her off, "Stephanie always a pleasure."

"Likewise," she said a little too sweetly.

"Rory," he said sticking out his hand, smiling lightly. "It was nice meeting you officially."

"Thanks, nice meeting you too Robert."

"See you all Saturday."

"Ugh." Stephanie groaned letting out the breath she'd been holding. "That guy is insufferable."

"Really?" Rory asked in surprise. "He didn't seem so bad."

"You got the small dose Mary." Tristan laughed. "Robert really is an ass."

"But he's Colin's friend I mean he can't be that bad if Colin hangs out with him."

"Aww sweetie," Stephanie laughed as she patted Rory's hand. "The reason they get along is because Colin is just as much of an ass as Robert is, you just don't see it because you've seen Colin's un-ass features. Robert is an ass everyday all day."

Rory shrugged as she watched Robert stop and talk with another group. "He really doesn't seem that bad to me."

Tristan shrugged as Stephanie sighed. "Mary's a lost cause; she sees the good in everyone."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Okay, I've got _50 First Dates_," he heard Rory's voice over the speakers as he rummaged through the kitchen.

"What about the food?" he asked, grabbing a big plastic bowl from the shelf.

"Spreading it out now."

"Now are we just eating the same foods, or did we decide to set it up in the same place as well?"

"Well, that's just a little bit crazy don't you think?"

"So that's a yes?" he laughed.

"Nutter Butters are on the top right hand corner of the bed."

"Got it." he said pouring the popcorn he'd been popping into the bowl and taking it, and the Nutter Butters to his room.

"So…"

"Spit it out love."

"Where are Logan and Colin today?"

"Out." He said simply.

"And what do they think of this?" Rory asked, looking at the food on the bed, playing with the bowls to hide her nervousness at his answer.

"I spoke with both of them, and told them, more like I told Logan, that once a week, I'd promised you a date, and since Friday evening is taken by your grandparents and Friday night and Saturday morning are with my father, it's going to be during the week." He said as he placed the food on the bed where she'd directed.

"And…"

"And, Colin understands it, as he spends an hour and a half trying to contact Lane, just to talk to her for ten minutes without her mom finding out. And Logan…is" Finn sighed as he walked back towards the kitchen, searching for the right word. "…Logan." Apparently he couldn't find one.

"So it's okay? It's not causing any…tension."

Finn shrugged as he held the phone to his ear with his shoulder, grabbing the bowls from the counter as he headed back to his room. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Finn…"

"It's fine Rory." He laughed, kicking his door open all the way, and set the small bowl of Skittles on the top right hand corner of the bed. He closed the door, and locked it, before going to his DVD player and setting the movie in.

"Fine," she sighed. "Where's the popcorn going?"

He looked over at his bed. "It's next to the pizza."

"Did you really get pizza in Fiji?"

Finn laughed. "It's not delivery it's _DiGiorno_."

"Cheater, but it'll do."

"Okay, so the movie's on the menu on my side, what about you? And where are Tristan and Steph this afternoon?"

Rory laughed. "I kicked them out. They've been kicking me out of the room for the last three weeks, luckily I've needed to study, but I told them that today was my day and to go somewhere else to have sex."

"Tristan's dorm?"

"I feel really bad for his roommates."

"Really?" Finn asked in surprise.

Rory laughed. "No."

Finn laughed as he settled on the bed, stretching out his legs with the remotes by his side. He looked over at his laptop and frowned. "You know this would also work if we used our webcams."

"True, if only I hadn't lent my laptop to Paris for the duration of the movie."

"Now why would you go and do that?" he heard rustling on her end of the phone signaling she was getting on the bed too.

"Because Paris can talk an Eskimo into buying ice."

"Right."

"Okay, menu's on." Rory said.

"Okay, I'll count down from three and we both press play."

"Gotcha."

"3…2…1…play."

He heard the opening credits start on his front as well as hers at the same time.

"You know, I like this," Rory said, grabbing a handful of jellybeans

"What? Adam Sandler?"

"No, you're idea for a movie night. It's nice, we usually just get in ten minutes here and e-mail there. But I like this movie idea."

"Well last week proved to work except for the technical difficulties, we can only hope we'll be able to keep it up."

"Very true." Rory laughed, the technical difficulties had come in the form of pausing. No matter how many times they counted down, or timed it, they had always ended up bout ten seconds apart from each other. "So I met a friend of yours the other morning."

"Oh?" Finn asked popping a marshmallow into his mouth. "Who?"

"Robert?"

Finn sat up. "You met Robert?"

"Well he came to talk to Stephanie and Tristan and since I was there."

"You met him," Finn finished.

"He doesn't seem that bad," Rory defended.

Finn shrugged. "He's not, but he's an ass when the mood strikes him. What was he talking to Stephanie and Tristan about?"

"I don't know, he said something about everyone finally being here, and that he and some guy Seth, I think it was, had to plan something…I don't know."

"Pub?" Finn asked.

"Huh?"

"Are they getting together at the pub, love?"

"Oh." She laughed. "Yeah, on Saturday night. Tristan and Steph are going, Robert invited me too."

"You're not going?"

Rory shrugged. "Hanging out in a pub with people I don't know. Not my idea of fun, I'd be the odd man out."

"Steph and Tristan are there." Finn pointed out, well beyond the point of caring about the movie. It was just so good to be able to hear Rory's voice.

"Yeah, meeting their friends."

"Who, if you meet them, would become you're friends."

"It's not that easy making friends."

Finn laughed. "You hung out with us easily enough."

"Well, I mean that's different."

"How so?"

"I don't know," she laughed. "It just is."

"You should go out," Finn told her, "I know the group they're meeting it's a great group of people who you'd get along with."

"It's fine." Rory laughed. "I've got papers to write, and tests to study for."

"No, you don't." he said knowingly.

"Okay one paper, and one test. But still."

"Rory I don't want you stuck in your dorm room for a year, and not meeting anyone outside of Stephanie and Tristan."

"I met Marty today."

"The naked guy?" Finn asked in confusion

"How do you know about the naked guy?" she asked in surprise. "I didn't know about him until today!"

"Tristan told me, he thought it was hilarious and Marty doesn't count, you met him through Stephanie and Tristan. You didn't meet him on your own."

"What about Robert?"

"Again Tristan and Stephanie, come on Rory, you need to get out of the dorm. You should go to the Pub."

"I don't drink," she pointed out.

"They have amazing coffee and some of the girls in that group are legitimately smart and nice."

"You sleep with any of them?" Rory teased, causing Finn to laugh.

"Thankfully no, they knew better then to get involved with me."

"And I don't?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"You live dangerously love." He teased back with another laugh.

"Ugh, fine! You win but if I have a horrible time, I'm coming back early and yelling at you."

"Perfect," Finn nodded. "I like the sound of that."

Rory shook her head as she heard someone at the door. "Pause the movie." She said forgetting to count down and pressing pause.

"Wait wait I can't find the remote, you've already paused it haven't you?"

"Yep."

"Damn, there goes our system." Finn muttered as he paused the movie.

"I'm leaving you on the bed, there's someone at the door. I'll be right back."

"Just where I like to be." Finn teased as she shook her head and walked to the door. She opened it to find a delivery boy, holding a rather large box under his arm.

"I'm looking for Rory Gilmore?"

"That's me," Rory said as the guy handed her to box, she took it, frowning at its lightness.

"Sign here."

She signed his pad and handed it back, before closing the door. She set the box on the table and smiled when she saw Finn's name on the return address.

"You sent me a box!" She yelled towards her bedroom.

"_What?"_

Rolling her eyes, she went to her room and grabbed her phone before returning to the common room.

"You sent me a box."

"I did." He said causing her to roll her eyes at his tone she could hear his smirk.

"Did you pay the delivery guy off?" she asked.

"Now why would you say that?" he asked, his voice sounding innocent.

"Boxes are sent to the mailboxes, not the dorms, you should know that." She laughed looked at the box curiously.

"I paid him off." Finn admitted with a laugh. "But it was worth it, now open it."

"What's in it?" she asked, rummaging around Paris' craft corner looking for a box cutter.

"You've got to open it." Finn laughed.

"Fine, fine," she found the box cutter and carefully cut the tape, before opening the flaps. She gasped when she saw what was inside. "Shirts."

"I talked to my father."

"Oh god."

"And he said that since you've been sleeping in my room, the maid has been cleaning it, and making sure the clothes you leave are clean for the next time you come and for some reason, there has been an abnormal amount of undershirts coming from my hamper, and since I'm not there to wear them, I pieced together that you've been stealing them."

"It's not stealing if I have permission." She defended with a pout.

"And it's more than the five you stole the first time you took them."

"Are you mad?"

"Of course not, if I'm not using them, you might as well."

"But what about these, aren't you using these?"

"Was. My father said something about you wearing them, because of my smell, I don't know. I'm going to assume it's a girl thing."

"It is." She laughed as she sat on the couch.

"So I'll make you a deal."

"Oh?" she asked amused.

"I'll send you all of my dirty smelly undershirts, for you to wear, once they stop doing whatever it is you like that they do, just stuff them in hamper and they'll get washed."

"And what do I do?"

"You send me my clean ones. I only have so many undershirts to give. Just send me the ones that are already washed. So we'll switch them out."

"You have got to be the sweetest boyfriend known to man."

"So we have a deal."

"Yes, but I feel bad."

"How so?" Finn asked.

"Well you're giving me something to remember you by. And I don't have anything to give you."

"Got any underwear you don't need anymore?"

Rory laughed as she leaned back on the couch, propping her feet at the end of the table. "No, I'm in need of all my…oh."

"What? I wasn't being serious Rory. I'm not that desperate."

"No, no, I just got an idea on what I could send you."

"Oh and what is that?"

"You're just going to have to wait until you get my box, now aren't you?"

"You are mean, love." She heard a slight knock from Finn's end of the phone. "That's Colin, meaning that had we not paused the movie should have been over by now."

"Probably past time." Rory sighed.

"It'll get better, love."

"So, talk to you later?" Rory asked.

"I'll be out of cell phone range for the next couple of days."

"Right, white water rafting." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"We're going to be fine. But I'll call you once we get back, all right, tell you all about it?"

"All right."

"And please, please go out. The pub will be fine, just watch out for flasks, some of the guys like to pour alcohol into the coffee, and watch the girls get progressively drunk."

"Were you one of them?" she laughed.

"And damn proud." He laughed back. "Bye love."

"Bye Finn," She said before closing the phone and setting it at her side. She looked at the box; bring it closer and taking out one of the shirts with a smile as she brought it up to her nose. Yes, purely Finn. An hour later, she was still sitting there with Finn's shirt in her hands, watching TV, when Tristan and Stephanie walked in.

"Hey, what's this?" Stephanie asked looking in the box.

"Finn sent me his old shirts." Rory said with a large smile.

"Ew," Tristan said sitting next to her. "Why would you want dirty shirts?"

"You're a boy, you wouldn't understand," Stephanie said waving her hand in dismissal and sitting on Rory's other side.

Rory bit her lip and looked at Stephanie. "I need your help with something."

"Ooo, intrigue. What can I do for you?"

"I want to send something for Finn, and I don't trust anyone else to help me with it."

"All right." Stephanie said with a frown. "What is it?"

Rory looked over at Tristan who was turned towards them listening in interest, then back at Stephanie. "I'll tell you later."

Tristan groaned and stood up. "No, I was only staying to listen to what it was, I need to go up and do some homework anyway." He leaned down and kissed Stephanie. "Babe, I'll see you later." He turned to Rory. "Mary." He had the pleasure of seeing her blush, before turning towards the door and leaving.

Stephanie waited a few minutes, knowing Tristan would probably press his ear to the door to listen. Once she knew he was gone, she turned to Rory who was still blushing. "All right, what do you want me to do?"

Rory bit her lip. "Okay, you have to realize, I've never done this before, nor have I ever wanted to?"

"Oh god, you don't want me to help you with phone sex do you, cause I love you sweetie, but that's a line that I'm not even willing to cross."

"No!" Rory said, her face glowing a tomato red. "No! Oh god."

"Oh thank god." Stephanie said releasing a breath. "Okay…so what is it?"

"I want to send Finn pictures."

"I don't do the naked ones." Stephanie said quickly.

"No." Rory laughed. "Lingerie?"

"Oh, that's even better." Stephanie said wiggling her eyebrow. "You tease the senses."

"I just…he's going through so much putting this together, so that I feel comfortable here without him, and I want to send him something to feel comfortable there without me."

"Rory, you know he doesn't care about that. The fact that you call him and stay with him during this year, putting up with Logan, that's what he cares about. He doesn't need pictures."

"I know, but I don't want him to feel like he's in the relationship, and I'm not. I want him to know I'm willing to reciprocate."

"God, you are so sweet and so innocent, and that is what is going to make these pictures perfect. Now…let's go." Stephanie said going into their room.

"Go where?"

"Rory, do you have any sexy underwear?"

"Um…"

"Boy shorts don't count…well cotton ones anyway." Stephanie laughed, than thought about it. "Strike that, boy shorts do work." She opened Rory's underwear drawer.

"Hey! Private property."

"I'm going to take semi nude photos of you, I think at this point anything's fair game."

"Stephanie you can_not_ tell Tristan."

"Oh…" Stephanie said weakly, pausing in her snooping.

"Stephanie!"

"But we tell each other everything!"

"Stephanie," Rory said, closing the drawer, before Stephanie had a chance to scrounge around. "If you agree to do this, you cannot tell Tristan. He would never let me live it down, and he would bring it up at the most embarrassing moments. I know him."

Stephanie bit her lip. "Fine, I won't tell him."

"Or show him or text him, or hint at it, or any other way that he would find out from you."

"What if he finds out on his own?"

"Then that's our fault for leaving the evidence, Stephanie, promise me."

Stephanie bit the inside of her cheek, before groaning and laying her head on the dresser. "Ugh! Fine! You win!"

"Thank you." Rory said taking her hand off the drawer, allowing Stephanie to open it and look through her underwear.

"Okay, you've got a lot of cotton, and I love you for it, but come on Rory."

"Well, what do you expect? I'm not really planning an evening out with my boyfriend anymore."

"Sorry, okay. So, I think a trip to Victoria's Secret is in order, oh a baby doll, Finn would die."

"Steph…"

"Fine, we'll go slow… this time."

Rory shook her head as she grabbed their purses and handed Stephanie hers before Stephanie led Rory out the door.

"Hey Steph?" Rory asked once they were in the car driving towards Hartford.

"Yeah?"

"That invitation on Saturday still open?"

Stephanie smiled, "You want to hang out with us at the pub?"

Rory shrugged. "Finn convinced me, he says the group you're hanging out with is nice."

"They are, well most of the time." Stephanie laughed.

"And he doesn't want me cooped up in the dorm all year, not meeting anyone new. Truth be told, I don't want to go back to Chilton mode, always studying and not having a social life, I want to have a little fun, that's what college is about right?"

Stephanie smiled and patted Rory's hand. "Right, and of course the invite is still open. You'll have lots of fun. The girls are great, and no, they haven't slept with Finn."

"I already asked that, but thanks." Rory laughed.

"You'll have fun."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I will."

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"So how was your date?" Logan asked with a smirk as Finn came back up stuffing his phone in his back pocket.

"Are you asking because you're interested, or are you asking because you want me to believe you are."

"I'm interested." Logan responded.

"It went fine." Finn said sitting on the couch next to him, as Colin flipped through the channels.

"Did she get your box?" Colin asked, turning towards Finn.

"You sent her a box?" Logan asked with a frown.

"Yes and yes. I sent her a bunch of used shirts."

"Why?" Logan asked

Colin laughed. "It's a girl thing apparently. Tristan said that Steph use to steal his sweatshirts all the time."

"And Rory's been stealing my undershirts, though my dad says that my old Yale sweatshirt went missing last week."

"So, you sent her shirts?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, because the ones in my room back home are almost gone, so she's sending me clean ones within the week, at least I hope."

"Is she…" Logan shook his head and turned back to the TV. "Never mind."

"Is she what?" Finn asked.

"Is she going to reciprocate the gesture?" Logan asked. "Send you anything of hers?"

Finn laughed, "Not that I know of, I was teasing her about it," Finn shrugged "But she said she had an idea of what to send me, she wouldn't tell me what it was though."

"Well, that's good." Logan said standing and going to the bar, where he leaned down and got water out of the mini fridge. He gestured for Colin and Finn who nodded. Finn looked at Colin and raised an eyebrow. Colin smirked.

"Why is that good, Logan?" Colin asked, leery of the answer.

"Well it's good that Finn isn't the only one sending things." Logan said handing each of them a water bottle. "It was be pretty fucked up if she didn't send Finn things."

Finn shrugged. "Not really. I'm the one on a year long vacation, I can send souvenirs. What is she going to send me, Yale memorabilia?" Finn asked. "As for pictures, she usually sends them to me through e-mail, but it's nice that she feels the need to send something, sure."

Logan shrugged. "I'd feel like I was the only one in the relationship, if I was the only one sending shit."

Finn rolled his eyes. "And that is why you're not in a relationship."

"So what are they up to today?" Colin asked, looking at his watch before looking back up at Finn.

"Nothing, I think, but Rory met Robert."

"Did she?" Colin laughed. "What'd she think?"

"That he's not as bad as everyone's told her."

"Thank you Rory!" Colin laughed, causing Finn and Logan to groan.

"The guy is an ass, Colin, I seriously don't see what you see in him." Logan said with a shake of his head.

"Robert is not that bad!" Colin defended. "I've known Robert for years, and I seriously don't see the ass like qualities all of you guys do."

"Only because your ass like qualities come out when you two hang out, and you don't notice it." Finn said. "Two asses, a right does not make."

"One that doesn't make sense _Yoda_," Colin said with a roll of his eyes. "And have you even thought that because you treat Robert like an ass, he becomes one."

"Either way you put it, the man is an ass." Logan said.

Finn laughed. "Anyway, he came up to Tristan and Steph, I guess the whole group is back at school, and their having their first get together of the year at the pub. So, Tristan and Steph were invited and since Rory was there he invited her too. She wasn't comfortable going, but I convinced her."

"Why?" Logan asked with a frown.

"Huh?" Finn asked looking over at him.

"Why'd you convince her?" Logan asked.

"Way I see it, by this time next year, we're going to all be hanging out, Rory should go now and get together and feel out who she knows she'll get along with. I know she'll get along with Evie."

Colin laughed. "Because you get along with Evie so well."

"Evie is and always will be my dearest friend."

"That you hit on." Logan finished.

"That has been a joke for the past ten years," Finn defended.

"Does Evie know about Rory?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She does, I e-mailed her while she was in Europe and told her I met a girl that is more than just a one night stand. She sent me a voice recording of her squealing and saying 'oh my god I can't believe you're settled' over and over again then went on a three page rant about not being able to believe it and wanting to meet her."

"Steph will make that happen." Colin pointed out.

"So you really see you and Rory together this time next year?"

Finn shrugged. "Sure, I'm thinking about inviting her to Europe for the summer."

Logan frowned. "But we were going to do something in the summer."

Finn sighed. "Logan, you know I'm going to be taking over a hotel for my dad as a trail run. Colin is going off with his dad. This year up until June is all I'm able to give. And I can tell you right now, between waking up during the summer and seeing your face or Rory's, I'd pick Rory's any day," Finn said causing Colin to laugh.

"Come on Logan, as if you're dad doesn't have something for you to do come June."

"I have until the end of August to be out of family obligations. That was my deal with my dad. I knew you were taking over the hotel, but I thought that while you were in whatever city, I'd stay there and when Colin got around to that city, we'd all hang out."

"And you're still free to do that, hell Logan, I don't even know if Rory would want to go and stay in Europe for three months without her mom. You might just be freaking out for nothing."

"I'm not freaking out."

"Uh huh," Finn said with a roll of his eyes.

Logan shook his head. "So Rory's hanging out with the LDB huh?"

"I think they'll like her."

"Sure." Logan nodded.

Colin checked his watch again, noting the time he stood up. "I'm going to go call Lane and let her know we're going to be out of call phone range of the next few days, her mom should be at her church group right now." Colin got up just as Logan did the same.

"I need to make a few calls. We leave in a half hour."

"Might as well call my dad," Finn said, pulling his phone out as both Colin and Logan made their way down the stairs.

"Half an hour Colin." Logan said.

"Jeez Logan, we came on this trip to get away from our parents," Colin remarked rolling his eyes and closing his door.

"And girls too." Logan muttered going to his own room, and pulling out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts he looked at the names. "Albert close to Finn, David, is Finn's too," his finger hovered over one name; he shook his head with a wince before going on to the others. "Isolde…is Colin's, Kaitlin is Colin's," He sighed as he sat on his bed. "Jack is Finn's…Seth…" he winced. "Close to Colin and Finn." Going around his contacts twice, he stared at the name, before giving in and dialing.

"_Logan Huntzberger, where have you been hiding?" _the female voice answered on the second ring.

"In Fiji, the guys and I took the year off."

"_I've heard the rumblings, which still doesn't explain why you're calling me." _She paused slightly before laughing._ "Oh Logan, who are you looking to sabotage?"_

"Why do you assume I'm looking to sabotage someone?"

"_Any LDBer that calls me is looking to ruin someone's day. So what can I do for you?"_

Logan sighed. "So if you've heard that we're in Fiji, I'm assuming you know that Colin and Finn have settled down."

"_Small town girls, I heard, Finn doesn't surprise me, but that Colin lowered his standards that caught me off guard."_

"Yeah, well." Logan sighed. "I hear the LDB is going to gather around the Pub on Saturday."

"_You hear right"_

"I need pictures."

"_Of the gathering?"_ she asked. _"It's just going to be a bunch of drunk LDBers…you've seen that before."_

"No, I need pictures of Finn's girlfriend."

"_Do you think she's going to cheat_?" she laughed.

"I know she's not."

"_But you want to make Finn think she is."_

"I don't want Finn to think anything." Logan said. "I just want you to keep an eye out and if you see anything…weird, then take a picture. He worries about her you know."

"_Then Finn would be the one calling me, you're full of shit Logan, but that's the type of people I tend to like. Now…what are you willing to do for me?"_

Logan laughed. "The usual."

She 'hmm'ed' before agreeing. _"Fine, send the pictures to you or Finn?"_

"Finn, anonymously, of course."

"_Of course and what's this girl's name?"_

"You don't know?"

"_I don't know everything Logan, contrary to popular belief."_

"Her name's Rory."

"_What about Colin's girl?"_

Logan sighed. "I have no idea what to do about that yet."

"_So, you_ are _planning on breaking them up."_ She laughed.

"Take the pictures and send them."

"_You got it boss."_

Logan hung up the phone and stared at it for a minute, his actions sinking in before rolling his shoulders and leaving his room.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Okay, I got them!" Stephanie said as she ran into the room and shut the door. Rory looked up from her book, causing Stephanie to frown. "And you are not ready."

"I know, I'm going to hit up the post office before it closes and meet you guys at the pub."

"You're not going to ditch us are you? Cause I've talked you up, as has Finn and if you don't show up people are going to think Finn made you up." Stephanie teased.

Rory laughed. "No, I promise I'll make it. So you got them?"

"You are so lucky that the guys at the Foto Hut are discreet."

"Only because you give them copies of your pictures." Rory laughed, then sobered. "You didn't…" she said holding up the folder with the pictures. "Did you?"

"God no, I know you'd kill me."

"Good." Rory said as she pulled the pictures out and looked at them. "Oh wow…"

"I know how to work a camera well, don't I. The guys at the Foto Hut blushed when they handed them to me."

"Do you think…" she trailed off quietly.

"Finn will absolutely love them."

"Steph!" Tristan called out from the common room.

Rory quickly put the pictures back in their folder before stuffing them under her pillow just as Tristan came in.

"It's called knocking." Rory said putting her book on the nightstand and getting off the bed to go to the box on her desk that she had started packing for Finn.

"Eh…knocking is a lost form once you move in with three other guys."

"How is naked guy?" Stephanie teased.

"Fully clothed." Tristan said dryly before looking into the box. "What are you sending Finn?"

Rory smiled. "I had Sookie bake him some cookies"

"Oh what types?" Tristan asked.

"Different types, chocolate chips, rocky road, marshmallow..."

"I ate them." Stephanie said offhandedly as she grabbed her bag.

"Strike the marshmallow." Rory said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm also sending him shirts."

"Yours?" Tristan asked.

"His. Clean ones and some little knick knacks."

"Nice." Tristan nodded then turned to his girlfriend. "Ready?"

"Just need to change real quick." Stephanie said changing out her t-shirt for a dressier top, and leaving on her skinny jeans and boots.

"You coming?" Tristan asked looking at Rory as he grabbed Stephanie's hand

"Yep, I'm meeting you guys there."

"You know where?" Tristan asked turning to her.

"I do. I'm just going to finish packing all of this up, and send it, then I'll meet you guys at the pub."

"All right, I think the whole group is planning on taking over the pub, so we'll keep an eye out for you." Tristan told her.

Rory nodded "I'll be there."

"Great, see you there." Stephanie said with a smile as she pulled Tristan out.

Rory watched as Tristan closed the front door, before going to her bed and pulling out the pictures from under her pillow, then grabbing the black leather bound photo album she'd bought when Stephanie had dragged her lingerie shopping. Closing her door, and making sure the lock was in place, in case Paris decided to have yet another bonding experience over crafts, she put in the photos of the summer that Stephanie had also gotten developed for her, before putting in the pictures Stephanie had helped her take.

Biting her lip, she gave a small smile, before putting the rest of the pictures in the album, flipping through it quickly, she put the album carefully on top of the shirts, before grabbing paper and pen, and sitting down to write the letter she had planned for him.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"God, Steph it's been way to long, the guys hide you." Evie said in her thick Australian accent, hugging her as she reached the table that she and Tristan had commandeered.

Stephanie stood and hugged her friend hard before sitting back down next to a laughing Tristan and Seth who was sitting next to him. "I'm a hermit. The boys never let me out anymore."

"I know! I feel like I haven't seen you in years." Evie said with a large smile, her light brown eyes scanned the bar, before settling back on Stephanie. "So…"

"So…?" Stephanie laughed.

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"The girlfriend."

Stephanie watched as Seth turned and nodded. "That's right, Robert told me he'd seen the girl where is she?"

Tristan laughed. "You're still speaking to Robert?"

Seth shrugged. "Sort of have to, he's been planning the event for the inductees, and I've been the one on standby for structures, he calls me every day with a ideas to see if they're possible."

"Oh any hints?" Evie asked leaning forward.

"Sorry, my lovely, I've been sworn to secrecy." Seth laughed with a wink.

"Well damn, now about Finn's girlfriend." Evie said turning her attention back to Tristan and Stephanie

"Her name is Rory." Stephanie answered, "She's very sweet and so totally in love with Finn."

"Finn talks very highly of her in all the e-mails he's sent and in all the phone calls, he seems just as in love," Evie smiled. "He sounds happy, I haven't heard Finn that happy, when drunk yes, but never when sober."

"Rory brings it out in him." Tristan admitted.

"God, I'm so glad. So where is she?" Evie asked anxiously.

"She went to the post office to send him a box. She's planning on meeting us here."

"That is sweet." Seth smirked, causing Stephanie to roll her eyes.

"It is actually. Finn has a good handle on the long distance thing; he makes it a lot easier on her." Tristan stated, "They're making this long distance thing work."

"Well now I'm just dying to meet her." Evie laughed, tossing her long curly red hair behind her shoulder.

"Well you're in luck, because she just walked in. Rory!" Stephanie called loudly waving her hand, she watched Rory turn and smile before making her way towards the table. She grabbed the free seat next to Evie, giving Steph and hug and a smile to Tristan before setting her jacket on the chair and sitting down.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, believe it or not the post office is really busy before they close."

"Well especially on a Saturday, what with them being closed Sunday and all." Stephanie laughed.

"Very true." Rory laughed along.

"So you sent it?" Stephanie asked.

"All sent, two day air, so he should be getting the box on Monday, I just hope he has enough clean shirts."

"He probably does, if not, he's not above stealing from Colin." Tristan pointed out, as Evie and Seth watched the conversation in amusement.

"He can't." Rory laughed. "Colin hid his undershirts when he heard Finn was starting to send them to me, apparently Colin's afraid they're going to get their shirts mixed up and Finn's going to end up sending me Colin's shirts, which Colin is planning on sending to Lane, I don't know it's a long big thing, either way Colin hid his undershirts, so Finn either has to go without or start reusing."

"Which is gross," Stephanie said.

Rory shrugged. "I say that for the next two days he is going to be going shirtless."

Stephanie and Tristan laughed, as Stephanie turned to Evie and Seth. "Rory, this is Seth Cranston he's a friend of the guys."

She smiled at him, Seth seemed to be around Finn's age, and wore black rimmed square glasses that covered dark brown eyes, his hair with black and sticking up in all directions, that indicated to her, that he'd been pulling at it in frustration recently."Nice to meet you I'm…"

"Rory Gilmore," Seth finished with a smile as he used the tip of his finger to push up his glasses. "Trust me, everyone in this room knows who you are."

"Oh?" she smiled back. "Is that a good thing?"

"I'd like to think so." Seth nodded he looked above Rory's head at a person behind her, and smiled giving a wave. "I'm being summoned." He said with a laugh. "Rory, pleasure meeting you, I hope to see more of you at these gatherings."

"Thanks Seth," she smiled as he got up with his drink and walked towards a group of people at the end of the bar.

"And Rory this is Evie Randell." Tristan introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Rory smiled at the girl next to her, Evie from what she could tell was a year older then her, and had long curly red hair that fell down her back, and light brown eyes that bordered on hazel. She had light freckles covering the bridge of her nose, and smile on her mouth that was aimed at her.

"I have got to say, Finn did not do you justice." Evie said quickly letting Rory catch the thick Australian accent, as Evie shook her hand.

"Finn?" Rory asked caught off guard.

"He's mentioned you in all the e-mails he's sent me, but my god, he didn't say you were this gorgeous." Evie smiled largely.

"E-mails?" Rory asked, frowning.

"Rory, this is Evie." Stephanie said.

"I know, you just introduced me."

Evie frowned and tiled her head, causing her hair to tumble over her shoulder. "Finn's never mentioned me?"

"No…are you like an ex-girlfriend?" Rory asked, looking as Stephanie and Tristan who were sharing looks.

"No," Evie laughed. "God no. Finn and I grew up together. I'm one of his best friends. I like to think I am _the_ best friend."

Rory looked over at Stephanie who was looking confused; Stephanie looked at Tristan and Evie before turning back to Rory. "Finn's never mentioned Evie?"

Rory shook her head and smiled lightly at the red head. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, now I just feel special." Evie laughed. "He can't stop talking about you. Our families go way back you see, our grandparents grew up together, our fathers grew up together, and Finn and I are only a year apart, so we ended up growing up together. I stayed in Australia, while Finn came here with his father, but we've remained best friends. He's really never mentioned me?" Evie asked, slightly hurt that her best friend had never once mentioned her to what Finn had described as one of the most important people in his life.

"I don't remember him ever mentioning you." Rory said, thinking about the conversations they'd had when they'd first been getting to know each other, then the e-mails and phone conversations they'd had. "From the stories Finn's told me, I assumed Logan and Colin were his best friends. I mean I know he has other friends, obviously." Rory laughed waving her hand towards the bar. "But Logan and Colin are always the topic of conversation, granted he tends not to talk about his time in Australia much."

"Yeah he's still a bit bitter." Evie whispered still frowning.

"But hey." Rory smiled. "Now I know, and I bet you have great pictures of Finn when he was a kid."

"Yeah." Evie smiled back lightly, before standing, "I'm going to grab another drink, does anyone want anything? Rory?"

"Um…do they have coffee?"

"Yeah, you want it Irish?" Evie asked.

"Black is fine thanks." Evie nodded as Stephanie asked for a refill.

Rory watched as she walked away, noting that Evie was a good 5'3'' before turning to Stephanie and Tristan. "I feel like such a jerk."

"Why, sweetie?" Stephanie asked.

"I didn't know Finn had another best friend. I swear he's never mentioned Evie. God I'm so mad at him." Rory said crossing her arms.

Stephanie shrugged and patted Rory's hand. "He probably had his reasons."

"But even you and Tristan found it weird." Rory said. "I don't want her to think that I don't want to hear about Finn's life, or that I somehow didn't want to hear about her."

"She doesn't think that Rory." Tristan assured with a smile. "She's probably hell bent on killing Finn for making this so awkward, she doesn't think badly of you."

Rory bit the inside of her cheek before giving a nod. "I still can't believe Fin never mentioned her, she seems like such a huge part of his life."

"Well, now that you know, you guys can get to know each other, you'll love Evie."

Rory smiled as Evie came back, setting down the coffee in front of Rory, handing Stephanie a glass and setting down her own bottle of beer.

"What is that?" Rory asked Stephanie looking at the pink drink.

"Sex on the beach." Stephanie answered with a hum of excitement.

"Sounds yummy." Rory laughed taking a drink of her coffee.

"Ladies. Tristan." Rory looked up and smiled as Robert sat across from her and next to Stephanie. "Glad you could join us tonight, Rory."

"Finn has powers of persuasion." Rory laughed, causing Evie to laugh as well.

"That he does."

Rory gave a small smile shifting in her seat, she was about to ask Robert how he was before Evie interrupted her.

"What are you doing here Robert?" her voice annoyed.

Robert rolled his eyes, as he stood. "I came to warn you the Georgie's here, and to prepare Rory." He looked at Rory and smiled. "I apologize in advance; trust me were not all like the town whore."

Rory raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Robert smirked. "You'll see. Evie, we need to start planning, in all seriousness."

"Yes master." Evie said with a roll her eyes. "Have your people call my people."

"Or you and Seth can come over to the dorm tomorrow afternoon with ideas." Robert said sarcastically with an eye roll of his own. "I'll be at the bar."

Rory watched him walk away, feeling bad for him. He hadn't done anything to really deserve that behavior towards him.

"That man is an ass." Evie said, before turning to Rory. "So, Finn tells me you have a sister."

"I…" Rory frowned, "he told you that?

"You have a sister Rory?" Tristan asked. "I didn't know that."

"Uh…yeah. She's my half-sister on my dad's side." she answered. "I don't see her much though."

"Yeah, not having a parent in the pictures sucks." Evie said. "My mom is in and out of my life, you know."

"Um yeah, I do." She smiled wanly and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Here she was sitting with two friends and a virtual stranger who apparently knew a lot about her, a lot that she had told Finn about and didn't speak about to anyone else. Her father wasn't a subject she talked about willingly; she had opened up to Finn, knowing he wouldn't tell anyone else, she was wrong.

"You must be Rory."

Rory looked up and saw a slim blond standing behind Tristan her hands on his tense shoulders, while Stephanie and Evie glared at her. She was wearing a denim mini skirt and a tight tank top that ended just above her midriff. Her hair was long and blonde, falling straight down her back, and her eyes were green and a bit calculating. Her lips were in a saccharine smile, that Rory knew was fake; she'd been to enough Hartford events to know the difference.

"Yeah," Rory said with a smile of her own.

"I'm Georgina, Georgina Sheppard. I'm a friend of the boys."

"Boys?" Rory asked as she watched her hands trail over Tristan's back with a smirk to Stephanie before sitting in Robert's previous seat.

"Logan, Colin and Finn."

"Oh, Colin and Finn never mentioned you."

"Oh, I bet Logan talks about me nonstop."

Rory laughed, causing Georgina to raise an eyebrow. "Fortunately I don't talk to Logan long enough to know, and the guys don't tell me about their sex lives, thank god, because I've heard some horror stories. Stephanie, didn't one involve a girl, a lamp shade and whipped cream, god, I think her name started with a 'g' didn't it."

Georgina forced a smile. "Logan didn't tell me about your wit."

"He probably assumed it's something you have to experience."

"Apparently," Georgina said dryly. "So how's the sex?"

"Excuse me?" Rory asked.

"With Finn, I've heard rumors that he's amazing in bed. Are they true?"

"Georgie, enough." Evie said. "It's none of our business and you know it," she turned to Rory. "I'm sorry for Georgie, she was raised by wolves, and she's still learning socialization."

"It's fine." Rory said smiling tightly. She looked at her empty coffee cup. "Well, will you look at that empty, I'm going to go get some more." She got up from the table grabbing her mug, not being able to help it she turned with a smirk. "It's earth-shattering by the way."

They all looked at her, but Georgina frowned. "What is?"

"The sex. It's earth-shattering. You don't know what you're missing." Rory turned and felt the blood rise up on her cheeks; she could feel Stephanie and Tristan's smirks and Evie and Georgina's look of disbelief as she walked away.

She leaned up against the bar and released the breath she'd been holding. The bartender came up to her asking her what she wanted.

"Coffee, lots and lots of coffee."

"You looked uncomfortable."

She turned to her left and smiled lightly at Robert who was sitting at the bar nursing a scotch. "Very."

"It's the reason I went over there. When one of us gets serious about someone, it's everyone's business; it's why everyone knows your name. Georgie is well…" Robert waved his hand in the air looking for the word. "Well, a whore," he laughed looking at her. "She loves getting under peoples skin, it's why I wanted to tell you about her, or at least have Evie and Steph talk to you about her, but it doesn't look like they did."

"No, they didn't." she said, smiling gratefully at the bartender, looking back at the table, where Evie seemed more relaxed now that Rory wasn't sitting there, Georgina had left, and Tristan and Stephanie were laughing with Evie. Biting her lip she looked at the empty stool next to Robert.

"Can I sit?"

"Please," Robert said motioning for the stool.

"You know everyone I've run into, that knows you, says you're an ass." She saw him tense and look over at her, his eyes guarded and his jaw ticking.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And what do you think?"

Rory shrugged. "Personally I don't see it." she watched him smirk and she couldn't help but smirk back and give a nonchalant shrug. "Then again, I don't know you well enough, you _could_ be the biggest ass in the world. But I like to form my own opinions."

Robert laughed and nodded as he looked back down at his drink. "No wonder Colin's fond of you."

"I have my moments."

Robert nodded. "I'm sorry if Georgie said anything to you to make you uncomfortable. We're so use to her that it's easy for us to shrug her off, but newcomers…"

"I think I held my own." Rory smiled sipping on her coffee. "So what are you to Colin?"

"Huh?" Robert asked turning to look at her.

"Are you friend, family, _lover_?" she teased, feeling utterly comfortable with this guy that everyone had warned her about.

Robert laughed. "I'm the first two. I'm still working on the third, Colin will crack one of these days."

Rory laughed. "Friend and family huh?"

Robert nodded looking over at her, before turning in his seat to look at her fully, she matched his position turning to face him. "How much do you know about Colin's family?"

"Not much, I know his dad remarries a lot. That's about it."

"Well, my mother tends to remarry a lot as well. When I was about five my mother married Colin's father. They stayed married for about three years before calling it quits. Colin and I became close. We both deal with the same bullshit, so even if our parents weren't together anymore, at least we had someone to bitch too about the same shit."

"You guys kept in touch?"

Robert nodded. "Letters, phone calls, our parents thought it was good so they didn't stop it, they attribute our talking to them getting married a second time when we were sixteen. That one lasted until we were eighteen."

"So you and Colin are the same age?"

Robert nodded. "yep."

"So you're a junior?"

Robert shook his head. "Sophomore, I took a year off before my freshmen year. What Colin, Finn and Logan are doing now, I did after graduating high school."

"Where did you go?"

Robert shrugged, "Europe mostly, I've got family there that I can tolerate. I have an older brother I'm not too fond of and two sisters who are whores, so you can see why I ended up with Colin as a best friend."

"I highly doubt your sisters are whores."

Robert raised his eyebrow. "You've met my sisters?"

"No."

"Then how do you know they're not whores?"

"How do I know they are?"

"Touché." Robert grinned. "My entire goal in life is to outlive my brother, and with the way he drinks it's completely possible, put my sisters on the street and live as frivolously as possible, have numerous wives, thousands of illegitimate children and die completely alone and leave every cent to a parrot named Polly."

"That is your life's goal?"

"Except for the name of the parrot, I stick to everything I just said." He sighed. "And out of my three sisters I'd let one live with me, only cause she's actually the nice one."

"You're a fascinating specimen Robert."

"Thank you." He grinned. "So how did you end up meeting the guys?"

Rory shrugged sipping her coffee. "My grandparents kidnapped me and took me to Martha's Vineyard for the summer, the guys were playing Frisbee on the beach where I was reading, one of them overshot and Tristan fell on me trying to catch it. The rest as they say is history."

"You've known Tristan a while, right?"

"Since high school, but we lost touch after he got in trouble, it isn't until this past summer that we really became friends."

"That's good," Robert nodded.

Rory shook her head. "I really don't see it."

"See what?"

"The ass they all talk about. I really don't see it."

Robert laughed. "I'm not really like that. Colin and I, after we started living together again during our teen years, we developed a reputation of being stuck up, and I'll admit we are a bit stuck up and look down at people, but we've cooled down on it a bit, but the reputation stuck. Apparently when we hang out together its worse, I don't see it."

Rory laughed. "I get the impression that everyone treats you like an ass which makes you act like one, but I think when you're not being treated as one, you're a nice guy, hell you've proved it. You've been nothing but nice to me for the past twenty minutes."

Robert stared at her as she ordered another coffee. "I like you, Rory Gilmore."

"I like you too, Robert Bancroft." Rory laughed as the bartender brought her another coffee. "Now I'm assuming all those in the room are privileged."

"You assume right."

"What are you privileged for?"

Robert laughed. "Have you heard of Bancroft Airlines?"

"That's you?"

"My father," He corrected. "But yes, me too."

_**XxxxxxxxxxX**_

"What is that noise?" Evie said looking around for the buzzing noise that was coming from around their table.

Stephanie strained her ears, before nodding towards Rory's purse. "It's Rory's cell. Can you…"

"Yeah." Evie took the purse and handed it to Stephanie; she dug through the bag until she found the phone. Stephanie looked at the caller id and frowned at the long distance number

"Rory's phone." Stephanie answered.

"Steph?"

"Finn?"

"Yeah."

"Oh boy, do you have some women pissed off at you."

"What?" Finn asked confusion lacing his voice before backtracking. "Look Steph, where's Rory?"

"She's right…" Stephanie looked around the bar. "She was sitting with us a few minutes ago."

"Two hours ago," Tristan corrected.

"What?" Stephanie asked in confusion.

"That right, she left for coffee," Evie looked at her watch and nodded. "About two hours ago."

"You _lost_ Rory?" Finn asked incredulously.

"No…" Stephanie said looking around the bar; knowing Rory wouldn't actually leave the bar without her cell phone or jacket, which was still on the chair next to Evie. "She's here in the bar. She's…oh." Stephanie's eyes widened as she saw Rory laughing at the bar, while Robert was leaning in close telling her something.

"Stephanie, Rory?" Finn asked.

"Right, she's at the bar, talking to Robert."

Tristan and Evie both turned to the bar wand watched as Rory slapped Roberts arm laughing causing him to lean back and laugh as well.

"Robert?" Finn asked quietly.

"Uh yeah, she's laughing at something. I did not know Robert was that funny." Stephanie said absently. "Do you want me to go get her?"

"No, no, not if she's having a good time I'd rather not worry her."

"Worry? Why would she worry? Finn what's wrong? Who's hurt?"

"We're fine." Finn laughed. "We just had a little accident."

Stephanie frowned as she heard a doctor being paged to the ER "You're in the ER!"

"No, not me!" Finn quickly corrected. "Colin is."

"Colin is in the ER. My cousin is in the ER?"

"_Tell her I'm fine Finn! I can hear her from here!"_

Finn laughed. "He's fine, just a few broken bones."

"_Finn!" _Colin warned.

"What?!" Stephanie yelled into the phone.

Finn laughed. "Kidding kidding, jeez, no one can take a joke, he broke his arm."

"How?"

"He fell off the raft, the idiot, he hit bottom, twisted his arm the wrong way and it snapped, he's all doped up on medicine so he's not in any pain and he's got a neat looking cast. He's fine."

"Thank god."

"I was just calling Rory to tell her that we were in the hospital, and that we're going to be staying here for a few days, he's got a few bruises the doctors want to keep an eye on."

"But he's fine?"

"He's fine. We're all fine."

"Do you want me to go get Rory? I know she'd love to talk to you."

"No, its fine, I'll call her back tomorrow in the afternoon. Make sure you pass the information to Rory to pass to Lane will you? I don't have her number and getting the number out of Colin would be near impossible right now."

"I will."

Finn sighed. "All right, I'm going to go."

"Finn let me get Rory."

"No, Steph it's fine, don't worry about it; damn it Colin leave the damn button alone, we can't get kicked out of this hospital!" Finn sighed. "Steph, I have to go."

"Sure, I'll go let Rory know."

"Thanks." Finn said absently before hanging up the phone. Stephanie stared at the phone for a minute before putting it back in Rory's purse.

"Hey, everything okay?" Evie asked.

"Apparently." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You know the guys, Colin broke his arm, so they're making the hospital staff crazy."

"He broke his arm?" Tristan asked. "How'd he do that?"

"Fell off the raft apparently." Stephanie shook her head, now that the shock of hearing that her cousin was in the hospital, amusement was setting in.

"Well as long as they're all okay." Evie said.

"They're fine." Stephanie said. "From the sound of it, Colin's high off the drugs and was making a mess of things, Logan's nowhere to be seen and Finn's being the responsible one, everything's right on schedule if you ask me."

Evie laughed. "Well I was just telling Tristan that I'm off. It's getting late, and I have to go to breakfast with my sister. She will not be happy if I show up worse for wear and be the embarrassment of the country club."

Stephanie laughed. "I think we're done for the night too."

Evie looked over at the bar at Rory who was still talking to Robert. "I feel like I should say bye, but if I do, it would be awkward and weird."

"We can tell her you said bye."

"I just…don't want to seem rude but the situation is awkward, isn't it? I mean, it's not just me, right?"

"Not just you," Tristan assured.

"I just don't want her to think Finn and I have a past, cause we don't."

"We know sweetie, you don't have to explain anything to us."

Evie sighed and shook her head. "Tell Rory bye."

"She'll understand." Tristan laughed, hugging the redhead.

"I hope so. Steph." Evie smiled as she hugged the blonde. "We're getting together."

"Of course."

"Before the initiation event."

"How about Wednesday, I don't have an afternoon class."

"Perfect! I do!" Evie said with fake enthusiasm.

Stephanie laughed. "I'll call you and we'll figure something out."

"Sounds great. Bye." Evie said with a wave before bundling into her coat and leaving the pub. Stephanie and Tristan gathered their own things, Stephanie grabbing Rory's jacket and purse, before making their way towards the bar.

"No way!" Rory laughed.

"Dead serious, he was painted five different colors of pink, to say he was pissed is an understatement and our parents thought it was hilarious."

Rory shook her head, smiling when she saw Tristan and Stephanie heading their way. "Hey."

"Hey, we were wondering where you were."

Rory smiled and tilted her head towards Robert. "Robert and I just started talking and couldn't stop."

"What about?" Tristan asked with an amused smirk.

"Colin's teen years mostly." Robert smirked back.

"Oh, god, I remember those and your constant prank wars." Stephanie said with a groan.

Rory laughed. "Robert was just telling me about Colin's pink phase."

"That one was great. He couldn't get that dye off for a month." Stephanie laughed.

"Are you guys leaving?" Rory asked, taking a drink of her coffee.

"Yeah, it's getting late, uh here." Stephanie said handing Rory her purse and jacket, "You left it at the table."

"Oh thanks Steph."

"Finn called." Tristan said.

"He did?" Rory asked digging through her purse. "Is he back in cell phone reception?"

"Hospital." Stephanie said nonchalantly.

Rory and Robert straighten and stared at Stephanie as she straitened her coat. "He's at the hospital?"

"Finn's fine sweetie, it's Colin that's in the hospital bed."

Rory watched as Robert started reaching for his phone, showing her how much he cared for his friend, she put a hand on his arm stopping him, before turning to Stephanie. "That's not any better Steph, what happened?"

Stephanie frowned at Rory's gesture, before answering. "They're all fine." She assured. "From what Finn told me, Colin fell of the raft the wrong way, and broke his arm."

Rory watched as Robert relaxed, she patted his arm, smiling at Stephanie, whose back was turned to Robert, she was about to point it out but saw Robert shake his head.

"So, they're fine?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, they're all fine." Stephanie assured. "Finn says they're staying in the hospital for a few days, Colin has a few bruises that the doctors want to keep their eye on. But other then that's it's all good. He just wanted you to know what happened and if you could pass along the message to Lane."

"I'll call her now…" Rory looked at the time and winced. "Or in the morning." She laughed.

"Well we're going to get going." Tristan said, putting his arm around Stephanie.

"Yeah, you coming, Rory?"

Rory smiled, knowing that Stephanie felt that she was giving Rory an out of her conversation with Robert. She looked at Robert who was staring at his glass. "Well if Robert doesn't mind the company I'd actually like to stay."

Robert looked up and smirked, then turned to Stephanie. "Don't worry McCrea, I'll walk her home."

"Better be all you're doing." Stephanie muttered, before turning to Rory. "You sure?"

"Come on Steph." Tristan laughed. "Mary's a big girl. She stood up to Georgie all by herself I think she can handle Robert."

"Yeah, listen to Tristan."

"Fine." Stephanie sighed. "See you back home."

Rory nodded. "I'll be another hour, hour an a half."

"All right. Bye." She took Tristan's hand and let him lead her out, with one last look at Rory and Robert.

"It's innocent, babe." Tristan assured as they walked back towards Yale.

"I don't know." Stephanie said. "It's _Robert_."

"Wow, just the way you say that." Tristan said shaking his head with a laugh.

"What?"

"Just full of disgust."

"I do not say it that way…do I?"

"What do you have against, Robert? I mean sure he can be a stick in the mud, but all in all he's a good guy, as much as I hate to admit it."

"I know, it's just, Rory holds this sort of innocence."

"Yes I know." Tristan smirked causing Stephanie to smack his chest with a laugh.

"I just don't want to see her taken advantage of."

"Robert is a lot of things Steph, but he'd never take advantage of a girl, and he would never take advantage of Finn's girlfriend, knowing that Finn and Colin would kick his ass. He'd never betray Colin that way, you know that."

Stephanie sighed, it was true. Robert was in fact a lot of things, but he was loyal and loved Colin like a brother, and he wouldn't do anything to betray Colin. Colin had a very high opinion of Rory, and if Colin was fond of Rory, Robert was fond of Rory by default.

Stephanie gave a suffering sigh as she snuggled further into Tristan's side. "I really hate it when you're right."

"Yeah, I know."

_**XxxxxxX**_

_**A.N.:**_ First I would like to put in some disclaimers before I forget, all episode quotes come from the episode transcripts, I had many from 'The Fundamental Things Apply' as well as from 'Pulp Friction'. Also because I never do it and I should, all clothes I describe in detail, are usually taken from Nordstroms or Bluefly.

Okay, now that that's out of the way. This chapter was originally about eight chapters and counting, because of the fact that I wasn't planning on splitting it, but then it also gets to the point, where I know you guys don't want to read an 100 page chapter either. This chapter and the next are probably a HUGE turning point in the story, with setting up a lot of future events. As I've said a few times before.

The next chapter is almost done; I think I have about 15 more pages to go to finish it. As always I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to see what you all thought.

I want to give a special thanks to Emily for betaing this for me, and for writing me notes, they helped more then you can believe :D.

Remember to check out my website for updates on the picture gallery.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Kassandra

P.S. If you have a twitter I'm under PDLDRogan, I do post when I update as well as random day to day things. And if you look closely I do unwittingly put in fic spoilers lol.


	18. Fighting Isn’t Only for the Pros

_**Part 18: Fighting Isn't Only for the Pros**_

"So, Colin is dating your best friend?" Robert asked as they walked to a nearby twenty four hour fifties themed diner, they were both craving something sweet so Robert had decided to take Rory to a diner a few blocks away from the pub that he tended to frequent.

"Yeah, Lane, she's great, you know."

"So I've heard," Robert laughed opening the diner door for her, letting her walk in before him. He led her to a booth in the corner, smiling at the waitress as they sat down. "Isolde."

"Robert," she said with a roll of her eyes pulling her shiny slightly curly dark brown hair into a ponytail. Rory tilted her head and was amazed by how much the waitress, Isolde, looked like the man sitting across from her, especially with the light green eyes.

"I guess this is why you weren't at the pub?" he teased.

"Not all of us have daddy's moneys to lean on," She said sarcastically as she took out her waitress pad from her white apron that was tied securely around her waist.

"Or daddy just cut them off to learn responsibility." Robert corrected.

"Look, I still say my credit card got stolen and then returned to my wallet, no way would I spend twelve hundred dollars at_ Pup-N-Stuff_."

"Not even for your prized Maltepoo?"

"Shut up Robert." She smiled at Rory. "Who's the girl?"

"Isolde, this is Rory Gilmore, Finn's girlfriend. Rory this is Isolde, my non whore sister."

"Oh wow." Isolde said pushing Robert over to sit next to him; Robert grunted and glared at her. "Robbie told me Finn settled down. I didn't believe him."

"Robbie?" Rory teased, looking over at Robert with a small smirk.

"Oh, only I'm allowed to call him that." Isolde amended, causing Rory to look back over at her. "But I'll give you permission for a price."

"Oh, I'm intrigued." Rory laughed leaning forward in her seat.

"No, no." Robert said waving his hand in a crossing motion. "It's bad enough you call me 'Robbie' until I know Rory better, you do not give her permission."

"So, you're Robert's…" Rory trailed off.

"Twin." Isolde said.

"Oh, wow, resemblance is uncanny."

"Ugh!" both of them groaned.

"What'd I say?" Rory asked in amusement.

"We hate being compared to each other." Robert told her

"We look nothing alike." Isolde said at the same time.

"So are you both close to Colin?" Rory asked, deciding not to argue that, even though Robert and Isolde looked a lot alike.

"Robbie's closer. But I consider Colin just as much my brother as Robert."

"Isolde." Robert said patiently wanting to get his sisters attention before she let out embarrassing stories that Robert knew she had.

"Hmm?" Isolde asked distractedly as she smiled at Rory happily.

"You are a horrible waitress," he teased.

"What? Oh!" she stood up again. "I forgot I was working. Robbie, you're usual?"

"Please."

"And Rory what would you like?"

"Coffee…and pie."

Isolde smiled. "What kind?"

"Surprise me, I'm not picky."

"Robert, I like her." Isolde said with a laugh before walking away.

"So, is she the sister you would keep?" Rory asked.

Robert laughed. "Yes, Isolde is the sister I would keep."

"Good, I like her."

"Okay," Isolde said coming back. "Two coffees, and two cream pies." She said setting them down. "Robert, you better leave a big tip, I've got about four hundred more to go before I pay daddy back the card."

"Service sucked." Robert said picking up his fork. Isolde picked up the pie just as Robert was about to dig in, causing his fork to hit the table. He looked up at her in annoyance as she stood at the end of the table, one hand holding the plate while the other was resting on her hip, her own look of annoyance on her face.

"Let me rephrase that. You _will_ leave me a big tip or I'll tell mom who _really_ broke her Russian vase last Christmas."

"Is fifty good?" Robert asked with a sigh.

"Perfect," Isolde said. "Enjoy." She put the pie back down, before going to the door to greet the guests coming in.

"I have been systematically paying that damn credit card bill for the past three months." He shook his head. "I don't know why I don't just pay my father that way Isolde can finally quit."

"Your father and you…" Rory bit her lip. "Are you close?"

Robert shrugged. "I guess."

"Sorry, I'm prying." She said looking down at her plate.

"No it's fine." Robert smiled. "My mom stayed with my dad for ten years, they married young, sort of a reckless thing you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So she had Brandon, but Brandon has no interest in taking over Bancroft Airlines, then it was Isolde and I, then my two little sisters who are sleeping their way through high school, if you know what I mean." He smirked causing Rory to roll her eyes. "Which means Isolde and I are the most likely to get the company, because of that, our dad talks to us, takes an interest. But he lives in Europe most of the time, we only see him maybe once or twice a year, its phone calls weekly though."

"Are you close though?"

Robert nodded slowly. "Sure, I mean it's not like Finn with his father."

Rory laughed, "I don't think anyone has a relationship quite like Roland and Finn."

"Very true, but my father and I get along well enough. There's no pressure from him for me or Isolde to follow in his footsteps, but hell, both of us love the company."

"Do you fly?"

Robert nodded. "Occasionally, I don't have my license yet though."

"Wow."

"I'm assuming from your questions, you're not too close to your father."

"Not so much anymore, no. I'm closer to my mother."

"I've heard the rumor." He laughed. "My mother and I are close too, nothing like you and your mother from what I've heard. If anything I trust Isolde and Colin with my life, more than my parents."

Rory laughed. "It's just weird you know, I spend my Friday nights and Saturday mornings over at Roland's house and I see how close he and Finn are, and its odd that I never really had that with my own father, the closeness." Rory shook her head. "I don't do this." She admitted.

"Do what?" he asked looking up at her curiously.

"Share." Rory admitted with a small smile. "It took me weeks to open up to Finn yet here I am talking to you as if I've known you for years."

Robert shrugged. "Trust me, I don't usually answer questions about my family like I'm doing with you, but I find you comfortable to talk to. It's not…awkward."

"It's not," Rory stated with a smile. "I feel that too." She bit her lip as she took the last bite of pie pushing her plate away. "You do know I have no romantic interest in you."

Robert choked on the piece of pie he'd put in his mouth, swallowing with a wince before wiping his mouth. "God, I hope not, Finn would kick my ass for seducing you."

Rory laughed. "You couldn't seduce me."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I could."

"You really couldn't."

Robert laughed, having a feeling she wasn't going to give up. "Look, Colin is, for all intent and purpose, my brother."

"Right."

"And my brother is very fond of you, so fond in fact that if I was to even _think_ about making a move, he'd kill me then revive me so his best friend could have his turn. It wouldn't matter if you reciprocated those advances or not, I'd be dead. So…with Colin being protective of you because of Finn, and me being loyal to said brother, I'm not going to invoke anyone's wrath. If anything you've just gained a protector."

"And Robbie is just the best protector." Isolde cooed pinching his cheeks before sitting back down causing Robert to glare at her and slap her hands away.

Rory smiled drinking the last of her coffee. "I like you guys."

"Good, because I'm pretty sure we like you too." Isolde said with a smile, before settling her feet on the seat next to Rory. She turned to Robert. "I get off in an hour."

Robert looked at his watch. "So, three?"

Isolde nodded. "Do you want me to get a taxi or…"

"No I'll walk you back." Robert said, "I'll walk Rory back to her dorm, then come back and get you, does that sound ok?"

"Oh perfect. I need to get off my feet." Isolde groaned wiggling her feet.

Robert shook his head. "If you didn't love that Maltepoo so much."

"Oh shut up Robert." Isolde said. "I'm telling you the truth."

Robert turned to Rory who was looking at them in amusement. "A few months ago, my dad got the credit report for Isolde's credit card. Limitless credit card."

"Oh no." Rory laughed looking between the two.

"She was two thousand dollars over a limit that doesn't exist," Rory laughed as Isolde rolled her eyes, Robert continued. "She swears that someone stole her credit card out of her wallet, and after they were done using it, put it back."

"And I'm telling the truth." Isolde said firmly.

"She has no money management skills." Robert pointed out.

"That's Robert's department. I'm more the fashonista." She bragged as she stood up.

"Oh yeah, totally." Rory said looking down at Isolde's uniform. It was a lime green dress that ended just above her knees and a white rounded out apron that was wrapped tightly around her waist, and a white headband hat.

"Hey, don't knock the outfit; I actually have wonderful fashion sense when I'm not working."

"She does, I don't dress myself you know." Robert teased standing up and pulling out his wallet. "How much do I owe?"

"150," Isolde answered easily.

"Bullshit."

"Robert," Isolde said impatiently.

"Isolde," Robert said matching her tone.

"Fine, 100," Isolde conceded.

Robert sighed and pulled out the bill leaving out on the table. "Happy to pay your bills, sis."

"God, I could just sit here all day watching you guys." Rory teased

Robert shook his head. "Come on, I'll walk you back."

"Isolde, it was great meeting you."

"Same here Rory, I hope to see more of you, I mean if you can put up with Robert and all."

Rory looked at Robert then nodded at Isolde. "I think I can manage."

"Great, cause I've got like this sixth sense."

"Oh jeez," Robert groaned.

"And it's telling me, you and me, great friends."

Rory laughed. "That is wonderful to hear."

"Isn't it?" she smiled, she looked at Robert. "An hour."

"An hour." He said absently kissing the top of her head. "Be ready."

"Promise." Isolde nodded, stuffing the bill in her pocket before gathering their plates. "Bye Rory."

"Bye Isolde."

Isolde smiled. "Call me Iz. All my friends do."

Rory smiled back as she let Robert lead her out, and walk her back towards campus. "And now you just proved to me you're not an ass."

"Oh really?" he asked with a short laugh.

Rory nodded. "Sure, you're going to walk me back to my dorm, then walk back to the diner, sit around for maybe half an hour for you sister to get off work, then walk her back. That's sweet."

"Maybe, or maybe it's practical," Robert shrugged.

"It's sweet."

"A few years ago," Robert started "A girl got attacked; it freaked Isolde out, especially since she had to get a job to pay back our dad. So I offered to walk her to and from work. I usually hang out there anyway to study, free internet."

"It's sweet."

Robert watched her with a tilted head as they walked across campus. She was talking about something or other, rambling more like it, in the four hours he'd been talking to her, he'd figured out she liked to ramble and as he got to know her, he defiantly regretted promising Stephanie he wouldn't induct Rory into the Life and Death Brigade.

Getting to know her and the fact that she didn't believe what everyone else said about him, that she was able to keep up with Isolde, and not judge her for working or judge him. She was what the Life and Death Brigade stood for, a non judgmental safe haven.

The meaning had gotten skewed over the years, and the brigade had gotten the reputation of it being a bunch of privileged kids doing what they wanted because they could, which it was, but the definition Robert held on to, which were the stories that Andrew McCrea use to tell him and Colin from time to time.

About a group of people that could hang out together, do stupid things and not be judged for their actions. They have a common denominator between all of them. They all had something expected of them, no matter how big or small; there were family obligations for each and every one of them.

The Life and Death Brigade let them forget that, let them forget that the same people that wished to be them were also judging them, calculating every move they made. Rory didn't do any of that, she didn't wish to be in their world, but accepted that she was because of who her family was and whom she was dating.

Yet she knew what was expected of her as a granddaughter and a girlfriend, but even though the people that had talked to her tonight had talked about his reputation as a stuck up asshole, she still didn't perceive him as one, and he couldn't help but feel relived and grateful that he'd found another person he could just be himself around.

Yes, he was defiantly regretting the promise he made Stephanie.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Rory asked, flicking something over at him, he caught it in his palm and laughed at the penny that was sitting there.

"Just thinking about how glad I am that we met," Robert smiled. "It's very rare I find someone I can be myself around, with no defenses."

"How many of those people do you know?" Rory asked as they reached Durfee Hall.

"Two, three now," Robert said a small smile on his face. "Colin and Iz, and now you."

"Well I'm glad that I'm among the people you feel comfortable around." She rummaged through her purse finding a pen and scrap of paper and scribbling something down as they reached her door. "Give that to Iz won't you?"

He looked down and saw her number scribbled down. "Mind if I steal it?"

"Not at all." Rory laughed unlocking her door. "It was very nice getting to know you, Robert, you made this night much more enjoyable."

Robert nodded. "Trust me, it went both ways."

"Night, and thanks for walking me back."

"It's not a problem. Night." he said with a wave as she walked in and closed the door. Robert shoved the paper into his pocket as he made his way back to the diner quickly. He entered and took a seat at the counter next to Isolde who was laying her head on the counter top. He slid the paper in her direction.

She blinked and took it. "What is this?"

"Rory's number, she asked me to give it to you."

Isolde smiled. "That's sweet." She said taking the paper. She looked at Robert who was looking back at her. "What?"

"She's gonna be a big part of our lives isn't she?"

Isolde laughed. "Oh, so now you believe in my abilities?"

"I think your abilities are crap." Robert told her. "But I know you're able to tell when someone's going to impact us and when we shouldn't waste our time."

"You don't like her, do you, Robert?"

Robert laughed. "I don't want to sleep with her if that's what you're insinuating."

"Yeah, right." Isolde said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm going to go grab my stuff and tell Joey I'm done for the night."

Robert nodded, standing again, as she grabbed her purse from behind the counter and yelled at the cook that she was off for the night. Putting her coat on they left the diner, Robert put an arm around her shoulders as they walked.

"So?" Robert asked.

"I like her." Isolde nodded. "She's nice, down to earth, and can obviously tolerate you, which is a rare feat nowadays, what with your reputation being trashed."

Robert shook his head. "I swear, you punch one guy's nose…"

Isolde laughed as she hugged her brother closer. "And Colin appreciates you defending his honor, now about Rory."

Robert rolled his eyes. "What about her?"

"You're not interested?"

Robert sighed. "You can't tell anyone Iz."

"Intrigue."

"Iz."

"Promise." she said with a smile and a roll of her eyes sticking out her pinkie. Robert stopped and wrapped his pinkie around hers as they shook three times and spit on the ground.

"Colin wants me to watch out for her." Robert said as he wrapped his arm around her again and kept them walking. "He called me a few weeks ago, Logan and Finn got in a fight about Rory, Colin thinks Logan is going to try and break them up."

"Why? Logan, like, into her or something?"

Robert shrugged. "I don't know; I don't talk to him."

"Right, so why is Colin worried?"

"Colin has a theory, he thinks that because both he and Finn settled down and are with girls they both happen to really like."

"Colin is really into this Lane chick huh?"

"He seems pretty serious about her, something about knowing who "The Kinks" were. He was very excited."

"Colin has weird vices." Isolde laughed.

"At least now he finally has someone who understands it."

"True, so go on."

"Well, Colin thinks that Logan might feel like their priorities aren't straight. This trip they're on is suppose to some sort of last hurrah, and it seems like the only one hurrah-ing is Logan."

"Finn and Colin are so wrapped up in the girls…" Isolde said trailing off as they reached her dorm room.

"That Logan is the only one enjoying in the excess." Robert finished. "Colin's also worried that once he's done with Finn, he's going to start working on him and Lane. Which has him freaked, because he hasn't even had a date with the girl other their ten minute phone conversations and he's already afraid of breaking up."

"Shows how much Colin likes her."

"True."

"You coming in or…?"

"For a while." Robert said following her into the dorm room as she flipped on the lights. She opened the mini fridge and tossed him a water bottle before grabbing one for herself and plopping on the couch, Robert next to her.

"So you're doing what for Colin?"

"Just keeping an eye out for Rory, pretty much, it started out with some light stalking but I don't know…" Robert trailed off with a smirk.

Isolde laughed and smacked his arm before settling herself down with her feet in his lap. "Come on, Robert."

Robert sighed. "I didn't expect to enjoy her company; I mean hell Finn doesn't have the best taste in women but she's smart and you can tell she cares for the guy, Logan not so much."

"Oh well, only the whores like Logan anyway."

Robert laughed. "You shouldn't insult yourself that way Iz."

Isolde scoffed. "Please, it was a high school crush, that boat sailed a long time ago."

"Thank God," Robert said in relief.

"She's a Gilmore," Isolde said slowly looking at her brother for a reaction.

"She is," He nodded.

"Is she being inducted?"

Robert sighed and took a swig of water. "She was on the list."

"But?"

"But, Stephanie believes that she knows Rory better then anyone."

"Bitter!" Isolde laughed at the sound of Roberts voice.

"Annoyed," Robert corrected. "I think Stephanie shouldn't be making a choice like this for Rory before giving her a chance to decide for herself."

"True, what's Stephanie's reason?"

"She thinks that since its Rory's freshmen year that she'd want to focus on school more than the LDB."

"The LDB only has two major events Robert."

"I know."

"The rest are during vacations," Isolde shook her head. "God, I hate Stephanie."

"Strong words, Bancroft." Robert said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, like you don't hate her." Isolde scoffed.

"I'm not the one with the rivalry." Robert pointed out.

"It's just, who is she to make this decision for Rory? The whole point of the LBD is to make our own decisions, decisions that our elders don't allow us to make, to break away from our set patterns, and here's Stephanie doing exactly what we don't want to be done."

"I know, Isolde."

"It pisses me off."

"I know."

"You should induct Rory anyway."

"I can't, Iz." Robert said regretfully.

"Why not?"

"Because I promised Stephanie."

"Fuck that." Isolde spat out.

"Iz." Robert sighed, looking at his sister patiently.

"I'm serious." Isolde said. "Stephanie isn't anything to us."

"I'm bound by my word Iz, until Stephanie lets me out of it, I can't do anything."

"Why did you agree to this Robert, why would you agree to keep someone out of the induction process? That's not like you."

Robert sighed. "I didn't know Rory, I could have cared less about not inducting another person, so I agreed, Stephanie said Rory didn't know anything about the LDB so it's not like Rory's going to come up to me asking why she didn't jump off any scaffoldings lately."

"Robert," Isolde sighed.

"I regret it Iz, okay, I really do regret it, but I can't do anything."

"God this sucks."

"I know."

"I need to get to bed." Isolde said after a few minutes of silence.

Robert nodded, moving Isolde's legs off him before standing up, he hugged his sister, kissing the top of her head. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay."

Isolde nodded as she walked him to the door. "Thank you for walking me home."

"My pleasure, what time do you go to work tomorrow?"

"Two, I can walk on my own though."

Robert nodded. "Call me if it gets too late, I've got an English paper to write, I'll pack up my books and head down to the diner to work," Robert told her as he started walking away.

"I will, love you bro."

"Love you too." Robert called back with a wave over his shoulder. Isolde watched him walk as she leaned against her door jam. She really hoped Robert found a way out of his word, for his sake and for Rory's.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Good morning sleepy head."

Finn groaned as the light hit his eyes, he forced them back closed, grabbing the pillow at his side and covering his head again.

"You're up, Finn, might as well get out of bed."

Finn groaned and gave a soft whine before pushing himself up and glaring Colin who was sitting at the table on the balcony, the French doors open letting the ocean wind come into the room.

"How is it that less the 24 hours ago, you were so doped up on drugs the doctors gave you, you didn't even know your own name, yet here you are, as if nothing's happened?"

"Lane called me very early this morning." Colin said as Finn made his way to the balcony and sat down across from Colin, where breakfast was already set up, along with Colin's laptop.

"What'd she say?"

"She was very upset that I was reckless." Colin laughed. "And to give you her number so that information doesn't get relayed from me to you to Rory to her, she wants direct contact."

Finn laughed. "Right."

"Now…how did we get to the hotel and who was the idiot that chose bright pink for my cast?" he asked lifting up his right arm that was covered in bright pink plaster.

"The pink was your choice." Finn laughed.

"It was not!" Colin denied.

"Between all the colors, you thought pink was the prettiest, and who were we to persuade you otherwise."

"Bastards," Colin muttered. "And the hotel? I thought the doctors wanted to keep an eye on my bruises?"

"They did, but they got the x-rays back earlier than expected, said since you didn't have any internal bleeding, or broken ribs, we were good to go."

"My head's okay?" Colin asked.

"Is it hurting?" Finn smirked.

"A little." Colin admitted.

"That would be because when I was helping you up out of bed, you decided you were fine to walk by yourself, pushed me away, lost your balance and banged your head on the bed railing, pretty damn hard."

"Oh." Colin said sheepishly rubbing his head.

"Yeah." Finn laughed.

"So if you and I shared this room, where's Logan?"

Finn shrugged. "I have no idea, we were all at the hospital together for about two hours while you were getting checked, when you came back into the room, Logan went to talk to the doctors while I made phone calls. He never came back, just texted me that we had to wait for x-rays, I asked where he was but he never texted me back."

Colin rolled his eyes. "Great, I'm a gimp and Logan's MIA. Again."

"And somehow I ended up the rational one on this trip. I don't like being in this position."

"I don't think I like it either." Colin frowned, as he used his un-casted hand to move the mouse on the laptop.

"Checking e-mail?"

Colin nodded. "Yeah, apparently my dad's found a new playmate," he said with an eye roll.

"Is she hot?"

Colin shrugged. "I really don't care, because either way, eight months into the marriage, my new mommy is going to find my dad fucking Augusta in his study."

"Augusta?" Finn asked in confusion.

Colin laughed, he really didn't blame Finn for not remembering, in Colin's twenty-one years of life, his father had been married eight times, twice to the same lady, one Augusta Bancroft, that same Augusta Bancroft that always wormed her way into his father's heart when he up and married someone else. "Robert's mom."

"Ah, your favorite mommy." Finn nodded.

"I'll admit Augusta is my favorite of my father's harem." Colin laughed. "I just wish they'd get their act together and just stay together."

"Aren't they due for another wedding?" Finn teased.

"I don't know whether I want them to marry again or just leave each other alone. Ugh," Colin shook his head. "Whatever, I'm old enough not to be bothered by this shit anymore."

"Obviously not." Finn pointed out.

"Obviously." Colin muttered, making a mental note to either call Robert or e-mail him the news of his dad's latest girlfriend and to see what Augusta's status was.

"Anything else new?" Finn asked, referring to the e-mails.

"Not really, just an e-mail for Isolde, another from Lane from a few days ago, and one from Tristan."

"How is dear Isolde?"

"Still paying back her dad." Colin laughed.

"How is she doing that?" Finn asked pouring himself some orange juice.

"Working as a waitress over at Joe's."

"Oh, I would kill for pictures." Finn laughed, imagining Robert's sister waiting tables. "God, she'd be a horrible waitress."

"From what Robert tells me, she's actually pretty good at the job, except with him." Colin laughed. "She makes sure Robert tips big."

Finn shook his head. "God, what we're missing…"

Colin laughed as he pushed the laptop Finn's way. "I'm heading to take a shower, you can borrow the laptop if you want."

"Thanks, my dad sent me an e-mail a few days ago that I've been meaning to read."

Colin laughed, as he stood, Finn taking his seat and pulling the laptop forward. Colin stopped at the nightstand and frowned at the box of plastic wrap.

"This for me?" Colin asked.

Finn nodded. "I paid one of the guys downstairs to get it for you."

Colin came to the table, with the box, hating the fact that Finn had to help him wrap up his arm, since both of them knew Colin would never be able to do it on his own, they knew from when Finn had broken his own arm and had snarled at anyone trying to help him.

"Okay," Finn said as he finished wrapping the cast. "Don't drop the soap, cause I love you man, but there's just some things I'm not willing to do."

"Got it." Colin laughed as he started to walk away, his free hand working the button of his pants, he turned around and was about to ask Finn if helping him was totally out of the question, when Finn answered.

"I'm not undoing your pants Colin." Finn said as he double clicked on the internet icon, not looking up from the computer. "Only pants I'm undoing in the near future are my own and Rory's."

"So, figure it out myself?"

"There you go." Finn said with a slight nod as he put some eggs on a clean plate and brought his juice closer to him, he couldn't help but laugh as he heard Colin's grumbling all the way to the bathroom. He logged into his e-mail account, just as the hotel room door open, looking up and smirking when he saw Logan looking worse for wear.

"Where the hell have you been?" Finn asked as Logan came and sat in Finns old seat.

"Out."

"You do realize that last night I was the responsible one right? I stayed with Colin, and nursed him back to health."

"You sat at his bedside reading the newspaper and making calls while the doctors made sure his bruises weren't life threatening." Logan shrugged as he took a piece of bacon from the platter in front of him. "Totally routine."

"So what girl caught your attention last night?" Finn smirked as Logan grabbed the paper that Colin had been skimming.

"Really hot nurse." Logan smirked back. "She wore the uniform and everything."

Finn shook his head. "At least you're getting enough for all of us."

"Living vicariously through me, huh?" Logan asked.

"I guess so." Finn said slowly skimming his e-mails. He found his fathers and read, pretty much the same, only that Rory, with her busy schedule had skipped a few Fridays, but he didn't blame her, if anything they were going to do their movie nights once a month instead of every week, which Finn knew would probably happen anyway.

Tristan had sent him the same e-mail that he'd sent Colin, since he'd forwarded it to all three of them. Just pictures from their night out at the pub, Finn frowned when he saw that Rory was noticeably absent from the pictures.

He noticed Evie's e-mail and opened it, cringing when he saw the greeting

_My dearest Finn,_

_In all of the years we've known each other, from the days of bathing together to graduating, I never knew you to be such an asshole._

Finn frowned, and ran through the things he'd done that might cause Evie to be mad at him, he came up empty and kept reading, the tone of the letter changing considerably.

_How dare you put me in this position!? You told me everything about that girl Finn, everything, things that you probably shouldn't have told me._

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Finn muttered to himself.

"What?" Logan asked.

"Nothing." Finn muttered back still reading.

_And I'm talking about Rory, you asshole! I know you've got that stupid look of confusion on your face. You told me everything about her, and told her nothing about me!_

"Oh fuck." Finn said leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

Logan looked up. "What's up?"

"I fucked up." Finn said and he continued reading Evie's letter. "I'll tell you in a minute."

_Do you know how awkward last night was!? Here I am, telling her how you're description of her, so totally did not do her justice (which it doesn't BTW) and she's looking at me like I'm sort of stalker. And not only that, but now she probably thinks I'm some sort of scorned lover, since I apparently stuck my foot in my mouth by asking about her sister, that _Tristan_ didn't even know about. Meaning that siblings aren't something she opens up about! Meaning you've told me things that are supposed to be kept between a girlfriend and boyfriend!_

_God Finn, did you think we wouldn't run into each other or am I really that unimportant in your life that I wasn't worth mentioning to someone that you describe as being one of the most important people in your life._

_You better have a damn good reason as to why you didn't tell Rory about me, I don't like being some dirty little secret, because you know our relationship is platonic and I don't want Rory thinking it's something more or that I'm going to up and steal you, because after this little stunt, you're not worth it._

_Yes I'm being harsh, but god Finn, I'm your best friend, have been longer than those other two dumbasses you hang out with. I'm pissed beyond words, so you better come up with a damn good apology and not just to me, but to Rory. Because as hurt as I am about this, Rory has got to be even more upset about not knowing such a vital part of your life._

_You're an asshole Finn, and I tell you that repeatedly, but last night I realized just how big of one you are._

_Evie_

"You look pale." Colin pointed out as he came out rubbing the excess water out of his hair.

"I feel sick." Finn said, feeling like he was going to throw up.

"What happened?" Colin asked.

"Rory and Evie met last night."

"They didn't hit it off?" Logan asked, wincing at the excitement in his voice. Everyone in their circles knew that if Finn had an interest in someone and didn't get Evie's blessing, Finn wouldn't pursue it. Much like the relationship he had with his sister Honor and the same went with Colin, Robert and Isolde.

"You could say that." Finn said slowly looking up at him, as Colin took the free seat between them around the circular table. "It was my fault though."

"How?" Colin asked.

"I didn't tell Rory about Evie." Finn admitted with a slow blink. "God I could have sworn I told Rory about Evie."

"Finn." Colin said in shock. "How could you-"

"I know," Finn said interrupting him. "I fucked up."

"You and Evie are close…" Logan pointed out.

"I know."

"So close, that Rory may think you guys had a thing," Colin finished, knowing where Logan was headed.

"I told her I didn't sleep with any girls from that group, and I haven't." Finn said, frowned as he thought about it then nodded, "Yeah, I haven't."

"But here's Evie, who is such a bit part of your past Finn, it makes Rory think you were hiding her, you may not have slept with Evie, but you have a past with her." Colin told him.

"I fucked up okay, I realize that," Finn snapped running a hand through his hair, as he closed Evie's e-mail. "I'll call Evie later and talk to her."

"And Rory?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Rory's first." Finn admitted. "I'll call her later." He looked at the time and saw it was nearing noon their time, meaning it was four am Rory's time. "I'll call her after dinner, that should be, what, noon there?"

Colin nodded. "Yeah."

Finn took a deep breath as he opened the next one, it was from Seth. He frowned over that one as well.

"You're frowning again." Logan pointed out.

"Um…Seth." Finn said, then shook his head. "He says he met Rory, likes her, and was surprised to see her spend most of the night with Robert."

Logan straightened, "Robert?"

Colin nodded. "Yeah, Isolde said they really hit it off, she sent me an e-mail, about an hour ago, when she got off work, said she wanted to send it to me before she forgot."

"Hit it off?" Finn asked turning to Colin, as did Logan.

"Yeah, they went to the diner around two am after the pub."

"So when I asked you what was new, you didn't think this was important?" Finn asked, feeling panic rise.

"Um…no." Colin said slowly. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Why did they go together?" Finn asked. "Where were Tristan and Steph?"

"I don't know," Colin said with a shrug. "Isolde just said that they came in, stayed maybe half an hour, forty five minutes had pie and coffee and talked. Robert walked Rory back to her dorm, came back and walked Isolde back. It's all innocent."

"You don't know that," Logan said going back to his paper and hiding his smirk. "I mean it _is_ Robert."

Colin scowled. "I put up with a lot of shit on Robert's behalf and I really don't mind it, but Robert is loyal, and he is, for all intents and purposes, my brother, he's not out to steal girlfriends, Logan."

"How do you know?" Logan asked.

Colin hesitated, not wanting to tell Logan about his lack of trust in him or that he'd practically hassled Robert into becoming Rory's bodyguard, he shook his head. "I just know."

"You hesitated," Finn said.

"Finn, it's innocent, I swear, Isolde said that if anything Robert felt guilty."

"About what?" Finn asked.

Colin sighed, knowing he'd regret ever mentioning anything involving Robert. Robert tended to be a sore spot with everyone, except him. "Apparently Rory is on the list of inductees for the Life and Death Brigade."

Logan stopped reading and looked at Colin in shock, while Finn rubbed his face in agitation of the news. "What?" Logan asked.

"She's a Gilmore, Logan," Colin told him. "She's in the founding family." He shook his head. "Anyway, apparently at the beginning of the year, Stephanie asked Robert to not induct Rory, apparently without Finn there, Stephanie didn't think Rory would be comfortable partaking in the LDB events, and she thought Rory would prefer to focus on school."

"Why does Robert feel guilty then?" Finn asked. "Her reasons seem to make sense."

"It's not our way." Logan said slowly, hating what he was about to say. If he had it his way, Rory wouldn't have anything to do with their world. "We're not meant to decide who gets inducted or when, it's the inductee's choice. Rory has to decide, not Stephanie."

Colin nodded. "But Robert agreed, since he didn't know Rory he didn't really care."

"But he met Rory," Finn said slowly.

"And took a liking to her," Colin said just as slowly. "Isolde said that Stephanie is probably afraid that Rory's going to make friends outside of their little circle and leave them behind."

"Isolde isn't a reliable source Colin." Logan said. "She and Steph have had a rivalry since the fourth grade."

"True, but Iz is a good judge of character, Logan, and I think she's right." Colin shrugged. "I think Stephanie is afraid that Rory's going to make these friends in the LDB and hang out with her and Tristan less and less. We finally get another girl in the group, and she gets taken away by someone else, and Isolde no less."

"Isolde thinks highly of herself." Finn said.

"Isolde," Colin said forcefully, getting tired of his family getting attacked, "is just stating what she thinks. She says that Robert believes that Rory is what the LDB stands for and he's regretting going along with Stephanie, but unless he gets permission to initiate her from one of us, an elder, Stephanie or Rory herself, he can't go back on his word."

"Are you going to give him the permission?" Finn asked

Colin sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I would love to Finn, I really would, I think the LDB would be great for Rory to make friends outside of ourselves, to get new experiences, and to break out of her shell a bit more."

"But?" Finn prompted.

"But, I think you should be the one to give the permission. She needs a sponsor."

"I wouldn't be able to." Finn said.

"I know."

"It would need to be male."

Colin nodded. "I know."

"You're nominating Robert," Logan stated in awe.

"Look, I know you guys don't have the highest opinion of Robert."

"Damn right we don't," Finn muttered.

"But, I think since he and Isolde have hit it off so great with Rory and Tristan is one of the initiates, that Robert would be great."

"Why not Seth?" Finn asked. "Or one of the gay guys from the LDB? Brandon! He's gay."

"Rory doesn't know Brandon; she wouldn't trust him. And Seth, though she's met him, do you really think she'd be willing to jump off a fifty foot scaffolding with him after a five minute conversation?"

"No…" Finn said a bit bitterly.

"She's starting to trust Robert, by the time the induction comes; she would trust Robert and she'd jump with him," Colin shook his head. "But whatever, it's your choice Finn, I'm leaving it up to you, you can either let her get inducted this year, let Robert be her sponsor, or wait for next year, and you be her sponsor."

"That is if you last till next year," Logan muttered.

"Logan," Colin hissed, as Finn glared.

"Sorry, slipped." Logan said, looking at Finn who was leaning back in his chair.

"I'll think about it." Finn said after a moment.

"That's all I ask." Colin said as Finn leaned back towards the computer.

"Any of you know this e-mail address?" Finn asked turning the computer towards Logan and Colin.

Colin shook his head. "Not me, Logan?"

Logan stared at the e-mail, and couldn't help the rise of guilt mixed in with satisfaction as he saw the e-mail address that belonged to Georgina. "No," he lied. "I don't."

Finn bit the inside of his cheek, the system read it as virus free, sighing he clicked it, and frowned at the caption.

_Thought you might like these._

_A friend_

Underneath, there were pictures. Frowning at the pictures, he felt an anger and panic he'd never felt before, his heart quickened and nausea filled his throat as he stared at the screen.

Rory, Rory and Robert sitting at the bar, laughing. Some of Robert leaning in close whispering something in her ear, as she smiled, much like the picture he had of him and Rory at Martha's Vineyard, it was intimate, much more then he and Rory. Some of Rory, with her hand on Robert's, both of them laughing.

"Finn?" Colin asked.

"I've thought about it," Finn bit out.

"What?" Colin asked in confusion.

"Robert's _not_ going to be her sponsor." Finn said pushing out of his chair, grabbing his cell phone and leaving the room, slamming the door. Colin grabbed the computer, as Logan stared at the door in shock, Georgina must have gotten some damn good pictures.

"Oh shit," Colin muttered.

"What?" Logan asked leaning in and looking at the pictures. "Oh."

Colin got out of his seat and ran after Finn. Logan stared at the pictures, just as his cell phone buzzed; he opened it and opened the text, wincing when he saw the message.

_How'd I do?-G_

Colin gripped Finn's arm just before he got onto the elevator. "Finn."

"That's your so called brother? The brother you supposedly trusted and is oh so fucking loyal?"

"Finn, those pictures are innocent!" Colin said. "They're paparazzi shots, you know that, they're pictures that look bad if you're not there!"

Finn shook his head. "I need air."

Colin let go of Finns arm, letting him into the elevator, just as the doors were about to shut, Colin put his hand out to stop them. "Don't do anything stupid Finn."

"Let the doors go Colin."

"Finn, don't do anything stupid, calm down before you call anyone, you're going to ruin everything."

"Let go of the doors, Colin."

"Finn."

Finn pried Colin's hand off the door, letting the doors close, he fingered his cell phone in his pocket as he punched the ground floor button.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Morning sleepy head." Stephanie smiled as Rory came out to the common room rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?"

Stephanie looked at the small clock on the coffee maker as she handed Rory a mug. "Almost eight."

"Ugh." Rory groaned as she fell onto the couch with her coffee. "What am I doing up?"

"I didn't even hear you come in, what time did you get home?"

"Um…" Rory thought about it. "It was almost three."

"The pub closes at 2." Stephanie pointed out.

"I know; we went to the diner near the pub for pie."

"'We'?"

"Robert and I." Rory said as she took a sip. "We weren't ready to come home yet, so he offered pie and coffee, and well Gilmores can't deny coffee, especially when pie is involved."

"You guys went out for pie?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, and I met his sister, Isolde, god, she's great." Rory laughed.

"Isolde isn't that great." Stephanie muttered as she sat on the ottoman next to Rory.

"She and Robert are great to watch, they're conversations are like the ones me and my mom have."

"So, you like them?"

Rory game a small nod. "Yeah… they're amazing; I didn't know Robert was so close to Colin."

"Not like I'm close to him," Stephanie muttered loud enough for Rory to hear.

"Well yeah, you're blood, Steph, obviously, but Robert and Colin, I don't know."

"So, you had fun?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad I went."

"You could have had fun at the table too." Stephanie told her. "I mean, you just sort of left."

"It took you guys about two hours to realize I'd gone," Rory pointed out. "I wasn't missed."

"Come on, Evie felt like she couldn't say bye."

"She could have." Rory sighed. "Things were uncomfortable, things with Evie were tense because Finn told Evie things that I don't share with just anyone and the fact that he didn't tell me anything about Evie, it's just…I don't know it's going to take some time for me to be comfortable around her, you can't expect us to be buddy-buddy after a bombshell like that."

"She was fine." Stephanie told her.

"She wasn't fine, she was just as uncomfortable with me as I was with her, give it time Steph."

"But you had fun with Robert?"

"I did, he's a nice guy."

"When he wants to be apparently," Stephanie said with an eye roll.

"No, when you treat him like one." Rory defended. "If you treat someone like an ass, eventually they're just going to end up acting it."

"Rory, no offense, but I've known Robert a lot longer then you have, him being nice to you is just another ploy to get into your pants."

"It's not always about sex Stephanie."

"In Robert's case, it's always about sex."

Rory shook her head. "I'm going to get ready." Her voice filled with annoyance.

"Where are you off to?"

"The reason I'm up so early." Rory groaned, remembering the text. "Isolde wants to hang out."

"So, you're hanging out with Isolde Bancroft now?" Stephanie asked with a raised eyebrow and a bitter smile.

Rory leaned against the door jamb staring at Stephanie. "Yes, is that a problem?"

"I just don't like her that's all."

Rory sighed and her voice softened. "Stephanie, I love you, but even we get tired of each other."

"That's not true." Stephanie denied.

"Stephanie, I love you and Tristan, and I love hanging out with you guys but when you and Tristan are together, it makes me remember that I don't have Finn with me and it makes me sad."

"Rory-"

"And I don't want to feel sad all the time; Robert and Isolde don't make me feel sad. It's not like I'm going to forget about you." Rory laughed. "I really can't forget about you, you have my shoes."

Stephanie laughed, giving Rory a weak smile. "Okay."

"I don't want to get in between what you and Isolde are going through. If you guys don't like each other fine, I'm fine hanging out with you one day and her another, but I don't want anyone telling me who I can and can't hang out with. I wouldn't do that to you."

"I know, I'm sorry." Stephanie said. "And I'll try not to let my personal judgments come out when you mention her name, but I have the right to be jealous, I had you first."

"Well, I'm flattered." Rory laughed, "Now I'm off to change."

"Not showering?"

"Good idea, I do smell like bar don't I?" Rory laughed as she grabbed her towel and went into the bathroom to shower, fifteen minutes later she was out and in her room pulling on jeans as her phone rang. She looked over at her cell phone and smiled at the caller id.

"Hey you, I missed your call last night."

"I heard."

"How's Colin?" she asked buttoning her pants and grabbing her shirt off the bed.

"Fine."

Rory frowned at his tone as she pulled on her shirt sitting on her bed to put on her shoes. "You okay?"

"Yeah…no…I'm pissed."

"Oh jeez, what did Logan do now?" Rory asked with a half laugh as she held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she tied her shoes.

"Why do you think Logan has something to do with my anger?"

"Because he usually does," Rory said as she pulled on her other Converse. "What's up?"

"How was last night?"

Rory frowned again at his change of topic and tone. He seemed angry at her and she had no idea why, the last time they'd talked they'd ended on good terms. Great terms actually, she thought of the shirts that were lying in her drawer. "Great, actually I went to the post office and sent you a box, so make sure to be on the lookout for it, then I went to the pub, had a very awkward encounter with a girl by the name of Evie."

"Uh huh."

Rory shook her head. "You're really not going to apologize for that?"

"No, I'm not." Finn answered his voice coming out sharp.

"You know what Finn, I really don't want to talk to you when you're in this kind of mood, I'm annoyed with you already and you're just making me even more annoyed."

"I think I have to right to be annoyed with you."

Rory gaped "Excuse me?"

"You spent all night with Robert."

"I didn't spend _all_ night with Robert!"

"Then how did you end up at the diner with him?"

"What? Are you spying on me?" Rory asked standing and pacing her room in agitation.

"I have good friends, not a very good girlfriend though."

Rory stopped and stared at the wall in shock. "Excuse me?"

"It doesn't look right for me to be across the world and you to be hitting on another guy."

"I wasn't hitting on Robert!" Rory said loudly. "I was talking to him."

"Why would you talk to Robert after I told you to stay away from him?"

"Because I don't let anyone dictate who I can and can't be friends with. Robert happens to be a really nice guy Finn."

"How did you even end up at the bar with him, let alone the diner?"

Rory shook her head. "I don't have to explain anything to you Finn."

"I'm your boyfriend. Of course you do."

"No, I don't, you're my boyfriend, the boyfriend who talked me into going into the pub in the first place."

"Yeah, to hang out with Tristan, Steph, and some of the other girls, not to spend the entire night talking to some asshole, so he can seduce you."

"Oh my god!" Rory hissed. "_You_ sent me to that pub, knowing full well Evie was there, Evie who knew everything about me, and me nothing about her."

"That's beside the point." Finn said quickly.

"No, it's not, it _is_ the point, it was awkward and uncomfortable for me to sit there and have Evie talk about my life in passing, talk about aspects of my life that I told you in confidence Finn, that I don't open up about it to just anyone, Robert made me feel comfortable, he's not the ass you all make him out to be."

"Yes he is,"

"No, Finn." She said forcibly. "He's not."

"Why are you so quick to defend him? Do you_ like_ him or something?"

"Yes Finn, I'm so fucking in love with Robert I can't see straight."

"I don't want to hear your sarcasm right now Rory."

"You're overreacting." Rory said with a shake of her head. "You're overreacting to a situation you forced me into. If you remember correctly I didn't even _want_ to go to the pub, you made me go."

"I didn't _make_ you go anywhere."

"You certainly talked me into it."

"I saw the fucking pictures, Rory," Finn yelled.

Rory gaped. "Are you really having your friends spy on me?!"

"No, but I'm starting to think that it's a good idea if my girlfriends going to start acting like a whore."

Rory gaped and felt her heart stop, "I can't…." Rory took the phone away from her ear and snapped it shut. Before she realized what she was doing, she flung it away from her as if it had burned her, with such force that it smashed against the wall, falling to the ground in two halves.

"Hey," Stephanie said as she walked into the room. "I heard something break…Rory what's wrong?" Stephanie asked as she saw tears making their way down Rory's cheeks.

"I have…I have to go." Rory said grabbing her bag and keys, before leaving the dorm room and slamming the door on the way out.

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

Finn stared at his phone in horror. "Oh god," he whispered. "Oh god, I didn't just say that." He dialed her number again.

"_You've reached Rory, I'm not here, because well I have a life, leave a message and I'll pencil you in!"_

"Rory, Rory, I'm so sorry, it just…it came out and I…God, call me back. I'm so fucking sorry." He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and closed his phone, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

He should have listened to Colin, he should have calmed down first before making any type of phone call, he had ruined everything, Finn groaned, he hated it when Colin was right.

"Fuck!" He yelled into the open air before making his way back to the hotel. He felt his phone vibrate in his hand and opened it without looking. "Rory?"

"Stephanie," she corrected.

"Not now, Steph."

"What did you do?"

"I said not now," He said harshly before he hung up on her.

He didn't consider himself a jealous type of person, he really had no right to be a jealous type of person, he hung out with both guys and girls and one of his closest relationships was with Evie. He was as close to Evie as he could be without actually dating her and he'd never had a real relationship with someone, it was always casual, so if one of his bedmates slept with someone else, it was okay because he was doing the same.

But with Rory, god, things got skewed and turned upside down, and the idea of her being close to another guy that wasn't one of his trusted friends, he saw red, and for the first time in his life, he'd actually felt jealously rear it's head, and dear god was it ugly.

His heart was still going lightening fast at that thought of Rory not talking to him or Rory regretting ever getting in a relationship with him. She hadn't signed up to be called names, especially as harsh as the one he'd called her.

He opened the door to the hotel room, and winced when he was met with Colin's pissed off glare.

"What the _fuck_ did you do?" Colin asked standing and walking over to him.

"Not now, Colin."

"Stephanie just called me and said that she heard Rory arguing with you, then something smashing against the wall. Rory left the dorm in tears. What did you do?"

"I don't want to talk about it with you, Colin."

"I told you not to do something stupid! Why would you call Rory when you were so pissed off?"

"Not _now_, Colin!" Finn yelled as Logan came out of the bathroom looking at the two.

"What happened?"

"Finn did or said something and made Rory cry." Colin accused.

"So?"

Both Colin and Finn glared at Logan who put his hands up in the air in defense. "Sorry, I meant, Finn," he said his tone changing to a more dry and robotic sound. "You bastard, what did you do?" he rolled his eyes as he sat on the bed. "They had a fight, big deal."

Colin ignored him and turned back to Finn. "What did you do?"

"What part of I don't want to talk about it and not now, do you _not_ understand?" Finn asked with a glare of his own.

Colin was about to respond, when his cell phone rang, he looked at the caller ID and sighed as he answered. "I can't talk right now Robert."

_**XxxxxxX**_

Robert was an early riser by nature, but even he needed his sleep when he'd gotten to bed at four in the morning, so when the knock on the door came at nine in the morning, he cursed whoever it was as he got out of his bed, called his dresser a bastard after stubbing his toe on it, and cursed out loud when he remembered he was out of coffee meaning he'd have to walk all the way across campus for the good stuff.

He looked in the peephole and cursed his virile father who'd given him a twin sister instead of leaving him in his mother's uterus by himself.

"Iz, I'm tired, go home." He said resting his forehead against the door tiredly.

"Robert," Isolde said banging on the door again. "It's important."

"I gave you enough money to pay dad, it's not fault if you spent it."

"No, Robert, its Rory."

"No, you're Isolde, I know my own sister."

"No dumbass, it's about Rory. Just open the damn door."

Robert grudgingly did what he was told, "Okay, what?"

Isolde pointed to the floor next to the door and sitting there, her arms wrapped around her knees close to her chest, was a silently crying Rory.

"What happened?" Robert asked instantly awake, helping Isolde lift Rory up and bringing her into the room. They sat her in the couch before Isolde spoke.

"I don't know, I was on my way to her dorm, we were going to grab breakfast and talk."

"Talk?"

"Smack about you," Isolde said with a small laugh pinching his cheek.

Robert smacked her arm away. "How did she end up crying?"

"I don't know, we literally ran into each other, we both fell." She showed him her scratched up palms.

"I'll grab the first aid kit." Robert said heading towards the bathroom.

"Where's Nate?" she asked, surprised to see the dorm room empty of Roberts roommate.

"At his girlfriend's!" Robert called back. Isolde frowned at the hall before focusing on Rory, who wasn't crying anymore expect for a sniffle and staring at the wall.

"Hey," Isolde said, bumping Rory's shoulder with her own as she sat down next to the girl "Wanna talk about it?"

Rory shook her head as she wiped her cheeks. "I'm okay."

"Obviously you're not okay," Isolde said carefully as Robert came back out.

"Okay palms out."

"You pre-med or something?" Rory asked as she held out her palms without thinking.

Robert laughed lightly as he opened the first aid kit and grabbed the antiseptic. "I have Colin as a best friend; a busted arm isn't the only injury he's gotten in twenty one years, plus this one." He said nudging his head over to Isolde who rolled her eyes. "She was a real tomboy when we were younger, use to fall out of trees all the time."

"It wasn't that often," Isolde muttered.

Rory winced as Robert dabbed at her cut up palm "Finn and I had a fight." She said quietly, looking up at him, then back at her palms.

Isolde bit her lip. "Bad?"

Rory gave a small nod as Robert placed the bandage over her palm and moved over to work on Isolde. "Well, you can stay here if you want." Robert told her being rougher with Isolde, causing her to move her hands.

"Watch it! It hurts!"

Robert grabbed her hands and held them still. "Stop."

"Well stop being so rough! You practically soaked that cloth with the antiseptic and it hurts!"

"Baby." Robert muttered as he dabbed her cuts more carefully and bandaged her up. "I heard you guys were going out for breakfast."

"I don't…" Rory looked at Isolde and Robert and sighed. "Yeah…"

Isolde looked at Rory who was holding her hands together lightly as to not put pressure on her palms; she noticed that even though Rory's voice and demeanor was calm, her hands were shaking quite violently.

"Robert, why don't we stay in this morning, I've got to go back to my dorm at noon anyway to get ready for work. How about you start some coffee?"

"I…don't have any."

Rory gasped and Isolde looked at him like he was crazy. "What?" they both said in shock at the same time.

"I don't have any coffee, I was going to go get some when…" he looked at Isolde, who had widened her green eyes and stuck out her lower lip, and Rory's blue eyes that were wide in shock. "Oh shit," He muttered. "Let me go get dressed and I'll get breakfast." He went to his room and pulled on jeans and a sweater, before grabbing his keys and wallet from the table near the hall, making a mental note to himself that if he was going to start hanging out with his sister and Rory more, he had to avoid their eyes, they were killer on his conscience.

"I'll get one of everything." Robert called but Isolde stopped him and handed him a slip of paper from her waitress pad. "What's this?"

"Our order," Isolde said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Excuse me?" he raised an eyebrow and looked down.

"That's what Rory and I want from the diner."

"You're lucky Rory's sad," Robert growled stuffing the paper in his pocket before grabbing his cell phone off the side table and leaving. He fingered his phone hesitating, he didn't have any information other then Rory being upset because she had had a fight with Finn. He didn't have the why, and he didn't want to worry Colin, but…he flipped his phone open and dialed.

"I can't talk right now Robert." Colin sighed.

"You better make time," Robert said. "My ward just showed up at my door crying."

"She's there?" Colin asked there was static on the line then Colin's indignant "Hey!" before Finn came on the line.

"Rory's with you?"

"Not everything revolves around your girlfriend Finn, now pass the phone back to Colin, I was having a conversation with him, not you."

"Is Rory there with you?"

Robert didn't hesitate. "No," and technically she wasn't, she was back in his dorm.

"You're lying."

"Why would I waste my time and energy to lie to you? What motives would I have?"

"You're protecting Rory." Finn accused.

"Who would I protect Rory from? You?"

"I want to talk to her."

"And I'm telling you she's not here, pass the phone back."

"Not until I know where she is, she's not answering her phone."

"Not my problem, she's not my girlfriend now is she?"

"She might as well be, with you two all chummy." Finn muttered.

Robert stopped and stared at his phone, before answering. "What?"

Finn sighed. "Never mind."

Before Robert had a chance to get angry, Colin came back on the line. "Hey, sorry, he grabbed the phone before I had a chance to stop him."

"What did he mean by that, Colin?" Robert asked as he continued walking.

"I'll tell you in a minute, just a sec." Colin said as Robert made his way into the diner.

"Hey Robert!" Nancy, the waitress, greeted, "Iz doesn't work till two."

"Oh, I know I actually came to pick up some breakfast for us this morning."

"Well, aren't you the nicest brother."

"At times, she gave me this." Robert produced the paper Isolde had given him and handed it to Nancy, he watched in amusement as her eyes widened.

"Jeez, you're feeding an army."

"We've got a friend with us." Robert said, "And can you add in one of my regulars, I don't know if Iz is willing to share."

"Got it, it'll be about twenty minutes, we're slow this morning."

"I'll be here, thanks." Robert said as he sat at the booth ad turned back to his conversation.

"Rory's with you, huh?" Colin asked.

"I'm guessing you got away from the asshole?"

Colin laughed, "Yeah, well he wouldn't stop pacing and he kept staring at me."

"With reason." Robert nodded.

"Do you know what happened?" Colin asked.

Robert shook his head. "Only that she and Finn got in a fight, pretty bad one by the looks of it. She and Iz were going to go get breakfast and on her way to the dorm, Iz literally ran into Rory, I guess Rory was crying and Iz brought her back to my place."

Colin sighed. "She didn't tell you any details?"

"She didn't want to talk about it, she seemed calm, but her hands were shaking pretty bad, Iz got me out of the room, I'm getting breakfast now, so maybe she'll get something out of Rory, and you know, Isolde has a way with people."

"That she does."

"What do you know?"

Colin sighed again. "Not much, I do know it was a culmination of things. Finn got bombarded by all these e-mails this morning and he left here angry."

"E-mails?"

"Evie, she sent him a very angry e-mail about the fact that Finn didn't tell Rory about her."

"Evie needs to get over herself and realize the world doesn't revolve around her." Robert muttered.

"True, but you have to think about it from her point of view. What Evie and Finn have is like what you, Iz and me have. They're more siblings then friends, because they grew up together. The fact that Finn didn't tell Rory about Evie, is like me not telling Lane about you and Iz."

"Have you?"

"Lane is looking forward to meeting the siblings that turned me pink for a month."

"Good times," Robert laughed. "Now what other e-mails?"

"He got one from Seth, about meeting Rory, something about him being surprised that she spent most of the night with you."

"We talked," Robert defended.

"I know, but I might have made it worse."

"How?"

"Iz sent me an e-mail about how she met Rory at the diner, how you guys came in and talked, how you all really hit it off, Finn was upset and I sort of added to it."

"How?" Robert asked again dreading the answer.

"I told him about the LDB."

"Colin," Robert sighed tiredly rubbing his face.

"And how I thought that if Rory was inducted this year, it would be a great experience for her, which I still believe, but now that I think about it, it might have come at the wrong time."

"You think?" Robert asked sarcastically.

"I regret it, but hell, who knew Finn would get upset, I told him you were trustworthy and you wouldn't take Rory from him, he seemed placated and said he'd think about it. Two seconds later, he opened an e-mail and said you weren't going to sponsor Rory."

"What was in the e-mail?" Robert asked.

"Pictures."

"Colin!"

"Of you and Rory last night at the pub." Colin said quickly.

Robert frowned. "Yeah, and? We didn't dance so there were no pictures of us grinding together, not that I grind."

"Uh-huh."

"We barely touched; we sat at the bar for three hours talking." Robert said with a frown.

"I know that," Colin assured. "But if a person that didn't trust you to begin with saw these pictures, they'd think the worst."

"I want these pictures."

"What?" Colin asked.

"I want to see what I'm being accused of. I'm not explaining shit to Finn, because I don't owe Finn an explanation. I know what happened last night, Rory knows what happened last night, and Iz knows what happened last night. If Finn thinks Rory cheated on him, then he obviously doesn't have the full story and should feel like shit for thinking that about Rory."

"Wow, in 24 hours you've gone from 'you owe me big' to Mr. Protective."

Robert shook his head. "The LDB's gone to crap if we can't trust the very people in it, which is the whole point of the society." He looked up as Nancy approached his table with three bags, he smiled and pulled out his wallet but Nancy stopped him.

"It's on Iz's tab."

"Thanks." Robert laughed as he grabbed the bags and made his way outside again. "Ah, the perks of having a sister as a working girl."

"Thank Mr. Darcy."

"That Maltepoo is going to be the death of her." Robert said with a laugh. "Look, Colin, I really don't know the details of what happened this morning, but it's got to be bad if Rory's not answering her cell phone and is in my dorm room with me and my sister and not with Steph and Tristan who she probably trusts a lot more than us."

"Yeah I figure that too. Finn… he looks like he regrets something. I told him not to do anything stupid when he left, but he did something, and I can only hope that it's salvageable."

"I'm sure it is, look, send me the pictures, I was keeping an eye on a few people at the pub last nights, I think I might be able to figure out who took them."

"All right, Mr. Holmes." Colin said sarcastically.

"Look Watson," Robert smirked as Colin laughed. "Just send the damn pictures. Do you remember the e-mail address?"

"No, but I'll forward them so you can see it, might narrow down the suspects." Colin said mockingly.

"You're an ass." Robert growled.

"That's Mr. Ass to you."

"Ass esquire?" Robert asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I like it," Colin laughed. "I'll keep you posted."

"I'll do that same."

"And Robert?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, I know you don't like being responsible for other people."

"Other then you and Iz? No, but I don't have many friends either, as much as I hate to admit it."

Colin laughed. "It's the reputation."

"Am I ever going to live that down?" Robert asked tiredly.

"Probably not, unless you come out with the full reason as to why you punched Bobby Hallowell in the nose at the Hallowell's Christmas party."

"I'll keep the reputations."

"Better you then me, huh?"

"Much," Robert sighed. "And it really isn't a problem, I happen to like my ward."

"Good, I'll e-mail those pictures to you."

"Thanks." Robert said before hanging up and opening the door to his dorm, Rory was on the couch sleeping, her head on Isolde's lap as Isolde ran her fingers though Rory's hair in a calming gesture while looking at him in a mixture of shock and anger.

"What the hell happened?" Robert asked as he set he bags down on the coffee table.

"You're going to be pissed." Isolde told him.

"How pissed?" Robert asked preparing himself.

"Fly down to Fiji and kick Finn's ass yourself pissed. I know I am."

"What did he do?"

_**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**_

"Hey Robert." Colin greeted. "We just hung up the phone, you missed me that much?" Colin laughed as he opened his laptop.

"I know what happened."

Colin looked over at Finn who was still pacing and running his hands through his hair. "You sound angry."

"I am, I'm two seconds away from going to Fiji myself and kicking his ass."

"That bad? Come on, Robert I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"He called Rory a whore."

Colin turned to Finn in shock, Finn stopped and stared.

"Oh shit," Finn muttered.

"Robert, I'll call you back."

"Wait no,-" Robert started.

"I'll call you back." Colin repeated hanging up the phone and tossing it on the table. He looked at Finn, clenching his jaw, before getting up from the table and over to him.

"Colin, wait…" Finn said putting up his hands, but Colin didn't listen, instead he reared back his fist and punched him.

"FUCK!" both of them cursed. Colin gripping the arm he'd just broken and used to punch Finn, while Finn gripped his eye as he fell on his ass.

Logan walked in to the room carrying a pack of sodas and frowned at the scene. "What the hell happened?"

"Ask Finn," Colin ground out, flexing his fingers.

"Did you really need to use the hand with your cast?" Finn asked laying back on the carpet with a grimace his hand still over his eye.

Logan sighed, putting the pack on the bed, before crouching in front of Finn and prying his hand away from his eyes. Logan winced when he saw blood. "Looks like we're taking a trip to the hospital…again, it looks like you broke something, Colin."

"Good," Colin said still flexing his fingers.

"Why are you doing that?" Logan asked looking at Colin's arm.

"Doing what?" Colin asked.

"Your fingers," Logan stated, motioning with his chin as he helped Finn up.

Colin looked down and shrugged. "I just punched him in the eye, it hurts."

"Yeah, and you may have fucked up your arm again, come on both of you," Logan said as he led Finn out the door. He paused when he saw Colin standing in the middle of the room glaring. "Colin, you too, you need to get the arm rechecked."

"I'm not getting in a car with Finn."

"Colin." Logan sighed.

"I refuse to be around him right now."

Logan glared at him. "Colin, get out of this fucking room now! I'm taking you to a hospital to get that rechecked. Now go!"

Colin debated with himself before glaring and walking out the door, slamming into Finn's shoulder as he left the room.

"Really? Was that necessary?" Logan called as he watched Colin start for the stairs. Not bothering to call Colin back, Logan led Finn to the elevator. "So, I'm gone for five minutes and you manage to piss off the only person that could test Mother Theresa's patience. What the hell did you do?"

Finn clenched his jaw, and winced when the motion pulled at his eye. "Colin, found out what I said to Rory."

Logan nodded as they got into the elevator. "And it was bad enough to piss off Colin?"

"It's bad enough for Rory to reconsider being with me." Finn whispered.

Logan sighed, and leaned against the wall. "Look, Finn, I'm -"

"Don't try Logan, I appreciate the sentiment, but coming from you it would just be empty words. So just…don't."

Logan nodded and helped Finn off the elevator and led him towards the door, where Colin already had a taxi waiting. Logan slid in first then Finn. Closing the door the taxi took off to the hospital Colin had given.

"Colin…" Finn started.

"Don't," Colin said crossing his arms and looking out the window. "I told you Finn, I told you when we first met Rory that if you were just going to treat her like all your other girls, to let it go, to not get involved."

"I'm not treating her like all my other girls," Finn ground out.

"Calling her a 'whore' is worse than how you've treated all the others."

"He called her a whore?" Logan asked in disbelief, turning to Finn. "You called her a whore?"

"Colin-" Finn started again, ignoring Logan. Colin cut him off again.

Colin shook his head. "You hurt her Finn. I told you, nothing is going on with her and Robert, they were just talking at the bar, talking about me."

"That's very egotistical of you," Logan muttered.

Colin turned and glared. "It's true, I'm the common ground. I'm close to both of them."

"Come on Colin," Logan scoffed. "You're her boyfriend's best friend. That's not considered close. That's more of an acquaintance."

Colin shook his head. "Just because I don't talk to you and Finn about it doesn't mean I'm not friends with her. I talk to her twice a week."

Both Finn and Logan looked at him. "What?" Finn asked.

"Twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday in the afternoon after her Governmental Law class, she knows I know a few things, she told me during the summer she'd thought it looked interesting, so I told her that if she ended up taking it and had questions to call me. So, when she started school, she called and we talked."

"About school," Logan said.

"What started off as school, now she asks questions before she forgets and then we talk, we talk for about an hour. I'm close to her Finn."

"What? Like a sister? Are you putting her under a sister?" Logan scoffed. "Come on two hours a week, Colin."

Colin shook his head before speaking quietly. "You have it easy Logan, you may have a crappy relationship with your parents but you have Honor to bitch to. Finn, you have a great relationship with your father and great relationship with your sisters. What do I have? I have a revolving door of mothers, to the point where I don't even know which one's mine, a father that only pays attention to me for three months and siblings that are in and out of my life." The taxi stopped in front of the hospital. Colin shook his head. "Why do you think I'm so close to Robert and Isolde?"

Colin looked at Finn. "Rory is an official part of my family, the minute that we started talking and we confided in each other, and the minute that Robert and Isolde took her under their wing. You hurt her; I'm going to be pissed. You hurt her beyond belief, Finn. Not only did you call her a name that doesn't fit her in the slightest, but you pushed aside the trust she had in you, and for what? For a couple of pictures that showed that she was happy without you?"

Colin scoffed. "At this point, Finn, I really wouldn't blame her if she dumped you." He turned and got out of the car, he turned again. "Go to another hospital, I can't even look at you right now."

He slammed the door closed and walked into the hospital in quick strides, leaving Finn and Logan to look at the place he just vacated in disbelief. Logan blinked as the driver asked where to, and he directed him towards another hospital.

"Finn-"

"I still don't want to talk about it." Finn said looking out the window as Logan moved down the seat. "I don't want to talk about it with you especially because you really could care less."

"That's not true!" Logan said.

"Please!" Finn scoffed. "It's absolutely true! You could care less if I work this out with Rory, you'd be elated if because of what I said in a moment of anger she broke up with me. Do you want me to be miserable, Logan? Because right now I am, I probably fucked up the best thing that's happened in my life! You got what you wanted, now shut up and just get me to a fucking hospital."

Logan leaned back in his seat. When he'd asked Georgina to send those pictures, he hadn't thought of the outcome, he thought a small fight would ensue, just to put tension in the relationship, he hadn't meant to cause this much drama. He hadn't meant to get his two best friends pissed off at each other.

But how was he supposed to know Colin was so damn close to Rory? How was he supposed to know that Colin would look at her like a little sister and treat her as such? Colin 'adopting' Rory was not a part of the plan, Colin taking this all so seriously was not part of the plan. Logan breaking Rory and Finn up….

That had been part of the plan, hadn't it? In the long run, he'd wanted to break them up. He just didn't think it would happen like this. He hated feeling regret, he felt that a lot in his life and he hated when everyone was mad at each other, he had had a lot of that in his life as well. He shook his head. He knew since he had been the one to mess things up, he should be the one to fix them, but at this point he just couldn't.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Rory laid on the couch her head on Isolde's lap as Isolde ran her fingers through her hair in comfort.

"You have to go to work soon, don't you?" Rory asked.

Isolde looked at her watch and gave a short nod. "I should probably get going in like ten minutes, Robert will be back by then."

"Where'd he go?"

"To get my uniform, so I could change here."

Rory nodded, as she continued to stare at the wall. Isolde had the TV on and was watching it, but Rory couldn't keep her attention on whatever show Isolde was tuned to. Her hand in her hair was relaxing and was close to lulling her to sleep again, but she couldn't stop thinking. She felt the sob lodge in her throat before it came out.

"Oh sweetie!" Isolde said, giving a soft laugh. "It's going to be okay."

Rory shook her head. "No, it's not."

"Rory, it was your first fight, Finn was bound to screw something like this up sometime."

Rory turned over onto her back to look at her new friend. "I knew," she started. "I knew going into this relationship it was going to be difficult, I knew that it wasn't all going to be a happy relationship that we were going to get into arguments, but if he's going to be calling me names…"

Isolde laughed and patted Rory's head. "Rory, look, no one is more pissed at Finn for what he said then myself, what he said was amazingly out of line but you have to see it from his point of view."

"Which is what?" Rory asked agitated.

"Your boyfriend…is a first timer." Isolde laughed. "He's never had a girlfriend, much less a reason to be angry at any girl he dates. And from what you told me of your conversation and what Finn said and how he said it, it sounds like Finn had his first taste of jealousy and wasn't quite sure how to handle it."

"That's no excuse," Rory whispered.

"No it's not," Isolde agreed slowly. "But as you're stewing and avoiding, like I have a feeling you're going to do, because god knows that what I would do, just keep that in mind."

Rory gave a short nod, just as the door open to admit Robert holding Isolde's uniform.

"All right, here are your clothes."

"Thanks, bro." Isolde said as Rory sat up and let Isolde go get her clothes. "I am going to change and then get out of here." She left down the hall to the bathroom, as Robert came and sat next to Rory.

"How are you feeling?" Robert asked.

Rory shrugged. "I'm, uh…better, cried out, but a little better, still angry beyond belief."

"That's to be expected." Robert nodded.

"Your sister helped."

"That's also to be expected. Isolde's dated her share of losers."

"I heard that!" Isolde called back from Robert's room.

Robert rolled his eyes. "Like it isn't true."

Isolde came out of the room holding her jeans and shirt in her hands and pulling down the hem of her dress, turning around for Rory to zip up. "That's beside the point." Isolde said turning back around to tie the apron on. "And it's not like the girls you date have been prizes."

"Oh I know they're not." Robert smirked. "But they are good at what I want them to do I'll tell you that."

Isolde and Rory looked at Robert in disgust as he leaned back against the couch proud of himself.

"And that's my cue." Isolde said grabbing her bag from the floor and stuffing her clothes inside. "Rory want me to walk you back to your dorm, it's on my way?"

"It's probably against my better judgment but I think I'll stay here." Rory laughed, glancing at Robert who laughed. "I don't want to deal with Paris and Stephanie right now, you know?" she said her voice becoming somber.

"Well, Robert will take care of you and he'll even let you raid his secret movie collection if you butter him up."

"I'm not into porn." Rory teased.

Robert laughed. "That's not so secret."

Isolde giggled as she made her way to the door. "His animated movie collection is under his bed." She said quickly before exiting with a laugh, as she heard Rory's laugher and Roberts's groan of embarrassment.

Roberts love for animated movies was his closely guarded secret, only she and Colin knew, and she had a feeling that Rory would probably find out in a few minutes anyway. Robert always felt that as a guy, people judged him for loving the animation world, which consisted of classic Disney and newer Pixar movies, as much as he did. Isolde and Colin knew that it was because Robert was just a big kid at heart, and animation was his way of expressing that.

Shaking her head, still laughing, she made her way across the court yard. Thinking about the impact Rory already had in their lives. Knowing her for less than twenty four hours, and Robert knowing her for a little less than a week, Isolde knew just by the way Rory looked and acted around them, that she would become quite a permanent figure in their lives. Especially if she had Colin' support behind her. There was no way Robert or she would let anything happen to Rory.

Isolde smiled, it would be nice having a girlfriend to talk to. The girls in the LDB were so fickle and keeping an actual girlfriend for longer than a couple months was hard in their world, there was always backstabbing and competition that got tiring. All Isolde wanted was a friend she could go to with anything and she knew that Rory would fit the bill perfectly.

"ISOLDE!"

Isolde stopped and turned at the sound of her name, only to groan when she saw the two blonde figures running towards her.

"What the hell do you want?" Isolde asked as they got close enough to hear her. She checked her watch and groaned again, she had ten minutes to get to work and she still had about a fifteen minute walk.

Stephanie glared at her. "As much as it pains me to ask you this, do you know where Rory is?"

"Nope, can I go now?" Isolde said, as she started walking away.

"Isolde," Tristan said patiently. "We know that Rory had a breakfast date with you."

"Yeah, and she bailed. And quite rudely too, left me sitting at the diner without calling." Isolde lied then waved her hand in dismissal. "Now, go on, leave me alone." Stephanie grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop; Isolde glared at her and wrenched her arm out of the blonde's hand. "Do _not_ touch me."

"We know you're lying," Stephanie said. "Rory ran out of the dorm crying and her car is still in the lot, we know she was with you."

"Have you tried calling her?" Isolde said, looking at her watch again.

"She threw her phone against the wall and broke it."

Isolde raised an eyebrow, "Impressive."

"Iz," Tristan started only to correct himself when she glared at him. "Isolde. I saw you guys when I was going towards Steph's dorm, I saw you leading her away. We know she was with you."

"Look, whether she was with me or not, I'm not telling you where she is now," she looked at her watch again. "I'm late. I have to go."

"That's right; you actually have to work for your money." Stephanie said a smirk on her face.

Isolde turned towards her again with a smirk of her own. "Stephanie, I'm not your bitch, I don't answer to you or to your little puppy." She said eyeing Tristan who gave her a glare of his own. "And at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I'm earning my money in a legitimate way, instead of on my back like _someone_ did during high school."

Stephanie gasped and reached for Isolde, but Tristan grabbed her around her waist and lifted her up. "She's not worth it." Tristan whispered in her ear, loud enough for Isolde to hear.

Isolde scoffed. "Maybe not I'm not, Tristan, but here's some food for thought, why would Rory, run to me with her problems, a girl she literally met ten hours ago, instead of staying where she was and pouring her heart out to friends she's had for the past five months? Now, I have to go to work and if I get docked pay because of this little interrogation, I'll be billing you," Isolde turned and sped walked towards the diner, leaving Tristan and Stephanie to gape at her.

"She came from Robert's room," Stephanie whispered.

"Steph," Tristan sighed.

Stephanie turned to him. "Something's happened Tris, between her and Finn."

"But do you want to know to help Rory, or for your own morbid curiosity?"

Stephanie swallowed. "I want to help Rory."

"Steph," Tristan sighed resisting the urge to rub his temples in frustration.

"She came from Robert's room," she repeated. "Isolde's dorm is nowhere near the diner, she would need to take her car to get there. Robert's place is closer."

Tristan sighed and nodded. "Fine, let's go."

_**XxxxxxX**_

"Would it be all right if I took a shower?" Rory asked looking up at Robert, from her spot on the couch, her head was resting on the arm rest while her feet lay curled up by his leg. "I just know I'll feel better after it."

"Yeah, sure." Robert nodded, pausing the movie as he got up from the couch, helping Rory and leading her towards the bathroom. "I'll grab you a clean towel and leave it on the sink."

"Promise not to look?" Rory teased.

"I swear I won't look," Robert laughed as he closed the door behind her. He went to the linen closet where he and his roommate Nate kept their towels, grabbing a clean one; he went to the bathroom, only to get deterred by a frantic knock at the door. Throwing the towel on the table next to the hall, he went to answer the door. If Rory was anything like Isolde when she was sad, she'd be in the shower for hours. He opened the door, only to groan when he saw the two blondes standing there.

"Yale really has to invest in some peepholes."

"We want to see Rory," Stephanie demanded.

Robert stepped out of his room and closed the door. "Don't you think that if she'd wanted to talk to you, she'd have gone home already?"

"So, you admit she'd in there." Tristan said pointing towards the door.

"No point in denying it, what I'm curious to know is how you knew she was here?"

"We ran into your sister." Tristan explained. "She was coming from your dorm."

Robert nodded, accepting the answer. "Iz ran into Rory, saw her running _away_ from her dorm and brought her here." Robert shrugged, he looked down when he felt his phone vibrate, taking the phone out, he looked at the caller ID and pressed ignore, Colin knew to give him five minutes after being ignored.

"Look, Rory left upset, we just want to make sure she's okay." Tristan told him.

"She's fine," Robert said crossing his arms and leaning against the door. "She and Finn got in a pretty bad fight, that's all."

"I didn't know the fight was so bad." Stephanie asked quietly, she looked up at Tristan. "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Ever think," Robert said, causing them both to look at him. "That maybe your loyalties aren't where she needs them to be at the moment?"

"What are you talking about Robert?" Tristan asked.

"You're loyal to Finn," Robert said with a roll of his eyes.

"So?" Stephanie asked.

Robert rolled his eyes. "You would instantly side with Finn, Stephanie, wouldn't matter what the argument was about, you would be on Finn's side, no matter what."

"No I wouldn't! I would listen to Rory's side," Stephanie defended herself, glaring at Robert.

"The thing is you shouldn't need to listen to sides Stephanie, Rory's upset, Finn made her upset, you're thinking should automatically go to Finn being in the wrong. I know you; you would instantly side with Finn, especially with what they fought about."

"You know what they fought about," Tristan said amazed at just how much Rory had come to trust Robert in twenty four hours.

Robert gave a slow nod. "She talked to me and Iz because our loyalties lay solely with Colin, we could give a crap about Logan and Finn. So when she talked we listened, and we worried, and we blamed the right person. She doesn't need some bitch that's going to make the situation worse."

"Hey!" Tristan said defending Stephanie, who stared at Robert with wide eyes.

"I only took the shot because, knowing Stephanie, she took one at my sister when you two ran into her."

Tristan's jaw clenched but backed down when Stephanie touched his arm and pushed him back. "I would have listened, Robert."

Robert shook his head with a sigh. "Sure Steph, I believe that, but I also believe, given the subject of the fight, you would have sided with Finn. Rory doesn't need that right now."

"What? She needs you?" Stephanie said disgust in her voice.

Robert clenched his teeth, to keep from lashing out at her. He knew what the entire Life and Death Brigade thought of him and thought of his sister, it didn't matter that they were richer than most of them, at the end of the day, the Bancroft name was equivalent to dirt on the bottom of their shoes. It still grated on him.

"She needs someone to listen to her, and be loyal to her, and her only. She may be your friend Stephanie, but you sure as hell wouldn't take a bullet for her."

"And you would?" Tristan asked in surprise.

"Wouldn't you?" Robert asked him, looking away from Stephanie. "Come on Tristan, there had to be a time in high school when you would have done anything for her." Tristan swallowed but his silence was enough answer for Robert. "I may not have known her for years, Tristan. But I know a good person when I see one, Finn sure as hell doesn't deserve her."

"So, this is all a ploy to get her!" Stephanie accused.

"I'm saying that Finn treated her like crap today and she deserves better than that." Robert sighed and looked down at his phone again when it vibrated, this time he answered. "Hey, you hung up so fast I didn't get a chance to finish talking." Robert frowned as he heard the background noises on the phone. "Where are you?"

"Hospital," Colin answered.

"Again?"

"I jarred my arm when I punched Finn."

"You hit him?" Robert couldn't help but laugh. "Dude." He looked over and saw the blondes glaring at him. "Just a second…Yes?"

"We want to speak to Rory," Stephanie said.

Robert rolled his eyes. "Look she's fine," he quietly assured. "She's taking a shower now, we're going to watch some movies and she'll be in her dorm crying on your shoulder by tonight. In other terms you're dismissed."

"Harsh," Colin said in his ear. "But my cousin's a bitch anyway."

"Whatever," Robert said turning and going back into his dorm not caring if Tristan and Stephanie stayed or left. "With the way they probably spoke to Isolde and how they spoke to me they deserve-" Robert stopped and stared as the door shut behind him. "Whoa."

Rory turned with wide eyes just as she tucked the ends of the towel under her arm as Robert took her in. The short towel ended mid-thigh, the tops of her breasts just showing and the ends of her hair dripping water down the valley of her breasts. Every man's fantasy was standing in the middle of his common room and he felt...

"Nothing." He said.

"What?" Colin and Rory both asked.

"Rory, she's standing in the middle of my common room like every man's wet dream and I feel nothing."

"Hey!" Rory said with a frown, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm standing right here."

"Really?" Colin asked.

"What are you doing in the common room?" Robert asked.

"Oh, you forgot to give me a towel, so I called your name, but you didn't answer, so I came out."

"Naked?!" Robert asked shocked that even that did nothing for him.

"What! Man, I'm trying to get you on Finn's good side, you looking at Rory nearly naked isn't going to help you any!" Colin said with a sigh as Rory raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we'd established the 'we're not into each other' rule." Rory teased.

"No, it's amazing because I really don't feel anything." Robert said, awe filling his voice.

"Seriously?" Colin asked. "Nothing?"

"You do realize that when you said that you were looking at my breasts right?" Rory laughed.

"Well obviously, I'm a man Rory, my brain says 'boobs', and it's impossible not to look, but I've got nothing going on down here." He said gesturing to his groin.

"Really?" Colin said with a laugh.

"I'm limp, dude."

"Ugh!" Rory groaned shaking her head.

"Sorry," Robert said wincing himself "It's hard having this conversation at the same time with two different people."

"Well, not for long, I'm going to go get dressed." Rory said with a roll of her eyes before leaving the room.

"So really nothing?" Colin asked.

"Absolutely nothing, which is quite a relief, I thought when I told Isolde last night I didn't want to sleep with Rory I was lying, got to say, I'm glad I was telling the truth."

"I'm happy for you." Colin laughed.

"So, you're back at the hospital?"

"On my way out now, I'm fine."

"Good to hear, what about Finn?"

"Who cares?"

"Colin…" Robert sighed.

"Logan thinks I may have broken something, I hit him with my cast. The worst that probably happened was I spilt some skin."

"You hit him with your cast?"

"In the eye." Colin said proudly.

"You're supposed to be the pacifist!" Robert laughed.

"I didn't kill him!" Colin laughed back. "I just hit him."

"So what are you going to do now?"

Colin sighed getting serious. "I'm going back to the hotel, grabbing my stuff and going back to Taveuni."

"What about the other guys?"

"I really don't want to be in the same room as Finn right now, I'd rather just cool off on my own. I know it's crazy being this protective about a girl that I barely know, but…I am."

"Trust me, I totally get it." Robert said just as Rory came back into the living room pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"I think I'm going to go to my mom's," Rory said gathering her stuff.

"I'll drive you." Robert volunteered.

"What?" both Colin and Rory asked.

"I'll drive you." He turned back to his conversation. "Colin, think your actions through before you go through with them, all right?"

"Alright, I'll call you later."

"Talk to you later." Robert said hanging up and grabbing his keys. "I'll take you to your mom's house."

"That's sweet and all Robert, but how would I get back?"

"I'll pick you up when you're ready, just give me a call and I'll go. It's not a problem; I have to go into Hartford today to see my mom anyway."

"Liar, but I have a feeling you'll keep bugging me about it, I'm too tired to fight you, so let's go."

"Great," Robert said grabbing his messenger bag, jacket and keys and leading her out the door, towards his car.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Colin sat on the bed of the hotel room staring at his cast, thinking. Maybe he could cool down here in the hotel; they'd go back to the boat together, instead of separating. Colin sighed and ran his non cast hand though his hair. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be able to sit in the same room with Finn and not get angry. Getting up he gathered his clothes hanging in the closet and went to the desk to grab his laptop. He would probably be able to rent a car to get back to Taveuni.

He looked up and winced when he heard the door open letting in Logan and Finn.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked as Finn closed the door.

"Going back to the yacht." Colin answered absently looking over at them.

"Great, we'll all go." Logan said, just as Finn turned around. Colin put his hand to his mouth to keep his laughter in.

"Go ahead. Laugh." Finn muttered, going to the bed, flopping down on it, wincing. "Logan made pirate jokes the entire way back."

Colin swallowed his laugh and shook his head, amazed that his mood had changed. It had to be because of the ridiculous eye patch Finn was wearing over his eye. "I, uh…I'm not going to apologize, you know."

"I know." Finn said with a short nod. "And as the doctors explained the benefits of wearing an eye patch, I realized that I deserved it."

Colin couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face. "So matey." Logan laughed as he sat on the chair across the bed. "Should we go back to the boat or loot the island for treasure?"

"Har. Har. Har." Finn laughed sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"No, really what should we do?" Colin asked.

Logan shrugged. "We could stay till tonight; go back first thing in the morning. We never got to explore when we got in."

"A doped up Colin does that," Finn said with a smirk of his own, before grabbing the remote for the TV.

"I hate to ask." Colin said. "But have you called Rory?"

Finn nodded. "About a million times, and each message says the same. 'I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, call me please' I'm pretty sure I'm begging at one point." Finn answered.

Colin sighed. "She's with Robert."

Finn looked up at him. "What?"

Colin sat at the desk chair. "Rory, she's with Robert."

Finn sat up on the bed and looked at his friend, while Logan watched silently. "When I talked to Robert earlier he said Rory wasn't there."

"And technically Rory wasn't. He was on his way to the diner for breakfast, Rory was at his dorm."

"Breakfast?" Logan asked. "Did Rory sleep there?"

Finn looked from Logan to Colin. "Well?"

"You know she didn't, Finn, you talked to her this morning too."

Finn nodded. "Right, right I did." Finn ran a hand through his hair. "So she's with Robert?"

Colin nodded. "From what he told me she ran into Isolde when she left her dorm, Isolde was worried and took her to Robert's since it was closer. When I talked to him about half an hour ago, she was still there," Colin couldn't help but laugh at the conversation he had with Robert. "And trust me; _nothing_ is going on between them."

"You don't know that, Colin," Logan sighed.

"Trust me, I do know that." Colin defended. "I'm not going to go into details, if Robert wants to tell you okay, if Rory wants to tell you great. But I'm not going to be the one to tell you the details of the conversation. But I heard something about a 'we're not into each other' rule from Rory. Trust me; Rory and Robert are just friends, probably close friends."

"In twenty four hours?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Colin shrugged. "I knew Robert was my best friend within minutes of knowing him."

"You were five," Logan pointed out.

"So?" Colin asked. "It took me minutes to know that you two were going to be my best friends."

"Can't have more than one best friend," Finn said, looking over at him.

Colin sighed and looked over at him, something that was usually said teasingly, was now said in all seriousness. "Don't ask me to pick sides Finn, because both you and Logan know I'll pick Robert."

Logan shook his head, "That's not fair."

Colin frowned. "Of course, it's fair. Robert and Iz have been there through all of my shit."

"Come on, Colin." Finn said. "He has not; you guys didn't even go to the same schools after your parents divorced the first time."

Colin nodded slowly. "You know, the only reason Robert punched Bobby Hallowell was…" Colin shook his head as Logan and Finn stared at him in interest. No one knew the reason Robert had punched Bobby Hallowell during the Hallowell annual Christmas party, no one except Robert, Colin, Isolde and obviously Bobby. But that one punch that led to Robert having to be escorted off the premises had ruined Robert's reputation in the younger generations' eyes.

"Robert is my brother. I don't care what you all say. If you make me pick, I pick him and Isolde."

Finn sighed and leaned back against the pillows. "Is she okay?"

Colin sighed in relief glad to have let that subject go. "She's fine, he's driving her out to her mom's, probably on the way back now."

Finn nodded. "Good., I'm glad."

Colin nodded, and grabbed his laptop off the desk. "I'm going to go down to the restaurant for a while. Get something to eat, and send some stuff off to Robert. I'll be back up in a couple hours."

Logan nodded his head. "All right," he looked out the window and saw the sky darkening, god it'd been a long day.

Finn watched as Colin left with his laptop bag over his shoulder, he lay back on the bed and flipped through the channels as Logan said he was going to shower. Biting his lip he went through everything going through his head. He knew Colin had been going through some personal issues, things he didn't talk to him and Logan about, because he and Logan weren't the personal issue type guys. They were the guys they went to, to stop thinking about all the personal shit.

He knew Robert; while he was an ass it was mostly because Finn never gave him a chance. When he'd been accepted in the group Robert had already been ostracized by everyone other then Colin and Isolde, and Finn had just followed everyone's example.

He knew that Colin didn't trust easily and Robert and Isolde were the two people that he trusted absolutely. And Colin was one person that Finn could trust absolutely, so mathematically, he should be able to trust Robert.

Finn groaned, he didn't want to think about this anymore, he wanted to talk to Rory, he wanted to explain himself, he wanted to apologize a million times until she accepted, he didn't want to think about another guy maybe encroaching on his territory.

"God, maybe I should just pee on her," Finn muttered in disgust, turning off the TV and settling on his side that didn't have the eye patch.

_**XxxxxxX**_

"No cracks, please," Rory said tiredly as Robert made a turn at Monty the Rooster and entered Stars Hollow.

"Wasn't going to say anything, Colin gave me a warning beforehand."

"Good." Rory said. "I called my mom; she's waiting for us at the house. Make a left up here."

Robert took her directions and sure enough there was an older version of Rory sitting on the porch with two take out cups of coffee and a white bag next to her. Robert parked behind the jeep and was about to go around to open Rory's door only to find her out and walking towards the porch.

"Hey sweetie," Lorelai said handing her a coffee cup.

"Hey mom." Rory said sitting next her on the porch step sipping on her coffee and looking in the bag. "Hey Danish, it's not Danish day"

"I know." Lorelai said with a smirk, before looking over at Robert who was watching the scene in amusement as he leaned against his car. "Who's he?"

"That's Robert, he's my new friend." Rory said waving Robert over.

"Hello, Robert Bancroft." He said offering his hand.

Lorelai looked him up and down before nodding. "Lorelai Gilmore." She said shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Rory's talked a lot about you."

"Yep, in the twenty four hours I've known you." Rory said with a smile as she bit into her cherry Danish.

"You've known each other twenty four hours?" Lorelai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's safe," Rory laughed. "He's Colin's brother."

Robert smiled at Rory while Lorelai looked at her confused. "Lane's Colin?"

"Mhmm…" Rory said sipping her coffee.

"I didn't know he had a brother and they have different last names."

Robert laughed. "I was his step brother, but our parents divorced, twice."

"Ah, got it now." Lorelai nodded. "And how did you come to drive my daughter home? Why not one of the blondes?"

"I'm hiding from the blondes." Rory admitted.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow but kept her mouth shut. "So, Luke and I are having a movie night."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Last movie he saw had Charlie Chaplin and it was in its original form."

Rory laughed. "That man has been living under a rock."

"You can join if you still wanna hide."

Rory smiled. "Thanks, mom."

"And hopefully talk about the reason you want to hide."

"I…" Rory looked up at Robert who smiled slightly.

"She and Finn got in a fight." Robert filled in taking Rory's cue.

"You fought with Finn?" Lorelai asked.

Rory gave a nod. "Yep."

"Aw, sweetie you must really like this guy!" Lorelai laughed.

Robert raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure that?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Here we go."

"Rory's never fought with her boyfriends. Dean was absolutely perfect to start with; they didn't rock the boat ever."

"Ever?" Robert asked amused.

Rory sighed. "We fought once, it was quickly resolved."

"She dressed up like Donna Reed!" Lorelai laughed. "I have pictures."

"I was trying to prove a point! And I proved it!"

"And with Jess, well…" Lorelai rolled her eyes.

Rory sighed. "It was pointless to fight with Jess, he fought with the world and he shouldn't have had to fight with his girlfriend too."

"The fact that Rory was actually willing to fight with Finn, that's big."

"It wasn't willingly," Rory said quietly.

"Want to talk about it?" Lorelai asked.

"I-"

"I'm here!" They heard a voice call out causing them to look at the driveway to see a Korean girl running up to them. "I'm here!" she ran up to Rory and hugged her before letting go to catch her breath.

"Hey Lane." Rory laughed as Lane pulled away and leaned against her knees to catch her breath. "I didn't know you knew I was coming into town."

"I….didn't" Lane said between breathes, before sitting on the porch. "Colin called, told me you were coming in. I timed it perfectly. I have about an hour to listen to everything that happened before running back home to my mom."

"You're Lane?" Robert asked straighten up to look at her.

"Yes." She answered, looking over at him. "I haven't met you before. You move into the old Bensen place?" Lane turned to Lorelai. "I thought the newbies didn't have kids."

"They don't," Rory laughed. "Lane, this is Robert Bancroft."

"Robert…" Lane muttered, her eyes widening. "_The_ Robert?"

"I don't know if I deserve the 'the' in front of my name." he laughed. "But if you're talking about Colin's best friend, then yes."

Lane smiled. "He doesn't describe you as his best friend."

Robert frowned. "What?"

"He calls you his brother," Lane said. "At least when he talks about you."

Robert frowned at her, before giving a short nod. "I should go."

"You can stay Robert," Rory said grabbing his arm before he started walking away.

"No," he said smiling lightly at her. "I wasn't lying when I said I had to go to Hartford."

"You were but it's cool." Rory laughed, standing up and giving him a hug. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said hugging her back.

Lorelai stood up and smiled at her daughter. "Hey sweets, why don't you and Lane go in and order some food for movie night?"

"All right, thanks again Robert." She said pulling Lane up and heading into the house.

"I take it you want to talk to me." Robert asked as Lorelai walked him to his car.

"Rory's not going to tell me the full story. She's going to play it down, make it seem likes it's not a big deal, but I have a feeling it was a huge deal. I also have a feeling you know both sides of the story, and it has to do with you, now spill."

Robert sighed and leaned against his car. "How much do _you_ know?"

Lorelai laughed. "You're smart, but I know nothing. Rory just said she was coming home, she usually doesn't call when she comes home, she just…shows up, meaning she wanted to make sure I was home so she could talk. She also sounded upset and the fact that she's avoiding the blondes, who was practically attached to during the summer, has me worried."

Robert sighed. "Rory doesn't know that it has to do with me."

Lorelai frowned. "What?"

"Rory and I met on Monday, some friends were throwing a party at the pub to welcome us all back, I was to invite Stephanie and Tristan, ran into Rory with them, invited her too."

"Okay." Lorelai said with a raised eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Robert rubbed his face with a groan before looking back at Lorelai, "Rory and I really hit it off last night, we're both pretty close to Colin."

"You more so."

Robert nodded. "And from that we found out we have a lot in common, so we spent most of the time talking, we ended up grabbing a bite to eat before I walked her back to her dorm."

"And Finn comes into this where?"

Robert ran hand through his hair. "Apparently someone sent pictures to Finn of last night and…"

"And?"

"From what I've gathered Finn got a wee bit jealous last night, and took it out on Rory."

Lorelai sighed. "There is a lot more too this then you're telling me, isn't there."

"So much more." Robert admitted.

"And you're not going to tell me."

"I'm telling you my involvement in this mess. Also telling you, Finn is a jackass and Rory has every reason to be angry."

"How much reason?" Lorelai asked trying to get a grasp on how bad the situation was.

"Colin punched out Finn."

"So regret bad?"

Robert shrugged. "I have to go. Talk to Rory, she'll break down eventually."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks Robert, for taking care of her, you didn't have to do that."

Robert laughed as he opened the door "I actually did, but it was my pleasure."

Lorelai frowned as Robert back out of the drive way, now what did that boy mean by that. Lorelai sighed before turning back towards the house; she opened the door quietly and listened for a minute, locating her daughter and best friend in Rory's room. Walking quietly she could hear bit of the conversation.

"He really called you that?" Lane asked in shock.

"I know he was upset, but…" Rory paused and sniffed as if she' been crying. "I didn't do anything wrong Lane."

"You didn't, Rory, Finn has no right to be mad."

"Did Colin tell you?"

"Just that you and Finn had a fight…" Lane trailed off.

"And…"

"And that he called you a whore."

"Ugh!" Rory groaned as Lorelai's eyes widened in shock before turning and leaving the house.

Rory buried her face in her pillow and screamed, before pulling away and throwing the pillow against the wall.

"Hey what'd the pillow do to you?!" Lane asked with a small laugh.

"This entire situation is so frustrating!"Rory yelled.

"So what are you going to do?" Lane asked.

"I don't know." Rory said quietly.

"Are you going to break up with him?"

"It was one fight; it's not grounds for breaking up."

"He called you a pretty nasty name, with little provocation." Lane pointed out.

Rory sighed, "Unfortunately Isolde is very wise."

"So I've heard." Lane laughed.

"I'm still angry."

"I know." Lane said sympathetically.

"But unfortunately I know where Finn came from, but still no right."

Lane laughed. "Rory, be mad. Deep down you know that Finn's sorry, that Finn didn't mean it and you know where it came from, but he was still in the wrong. You have every right to be mad, to ignore him, to yell back."

"You sure?"

"Rory!" Lane laughed getting up to hug her friend. "It's your first fight, a fight you did nothing to cause. Handle it the way you want to handle it." Lane pulled back and shrugged. "But if it had been Colin, I would have given him the silent treatment for a few days."

Rory laughed and hugged her friend again. "Thanks Lane."

_**XxxxxxX**_

"So you're back on the boat?" Lane asked, causing Colin to laugh.

"Yacht," He corrected, it was approximately three in the morning Monday, Lane's time, but a few weeks ago he got tired of trying to catch Lane at the right time, so he gave in a sent her one of his old cell phones that he'd had activated for her, knowing she'd never accept a new cell phone.

She'd argued with him for over an hour trying to convince him that she didn't need a cell phone, he argued otherwise saying they wouldn't even being able to have a long conversation such as the one they'd had if they were on a regular phone, causing her to concede.

But because they were both paranoid, he'd been calling her during times that they both knew her mom was dead asleep and Lane could talk freely in her closet. Colin thought that initially this whole process would grate on both their nerves, trying to stay awake on Lane's part, and him trying to carve out time out of Logan's jam packed schedule to call Lane, but so far the odd phone calls to her at three in morning, and her phone calls to him that came in at midnight was something they both looked forward to.

"Eh, less pretentious if I call it a boat." She teased quietly.

"And yes." He laughed again, "We're back on the 'boat'. I'm actually on mail duty."

"How's the arm?" she asked.

He looked down at his cast with a slight glare. "Annoying, how's your closet?"

Lane laughed. "Comfortably cramped; thank you."

"How's Rory?" Colin asked.

Lane sighed. "She's not use to fighting with her boyfriend, she tends to avoid confrontation, but this fight with Finn really got to her."

"Robert told me."

"She wants to be mad, Colin. And she wants to _stay_ mad; I think deep down, she doesn't want to let Finn off the hook. If she does, then it makes what he said okay and it might happen again."

"Finn…he feels horrible Lane."

"And that makes it all right?" she asked in shock.

"Of course not!" Colin said walking into the post office. "I'm in no way condoning what he did; I'm just saying that he feels horrible for what he said. Just a second." He told the lady behind the counter the name on the account, and showed her his ID. The lady smiled and nodded before going behind the counter to get the mail they'd asked to be put on hold. He turned back to Lane. "Look, I'm trying to stay out of it."

"And failing miserably." Lane laughed.

Colin rolled his eyes, signed for his mail that the lady brought back to him, raising an eyebrow at the box that she carried. He grabbed the large and slightly light box and tucked it under his arm, before grabbing the letters that had also been sent.

"All right so I'm failing miserably at staying out of it, I can't stand to see Finn this miserable though, I'm so use to seeing him bouncing off the walls, that him locked in his room calling Rory every half hour hoping she'll answer, it just…doesn't work for me."

"It's the plight of the Pacifist." Lane told him, half teasing half serious.

"Very true."

"Rory will probably kill me, but tell Finn to stop calling her cell phone."

"Deep down Finn knows that Rory's not going to answer, but he doesn't want to give up hope." Colin told her.

"It's not that she doesn't want to, it's that she can't." Lane clarified.

"Huh?"

"Rory was very angry when she hung up with Finn the other day…she ended up throwing her phone against the wall. It broke. Lorelai and Rory are going to go buy another next weekend."

"Well that explains it then." Colin muttered then shook his head. "Ugh off the Finn and Rory subject, I feel like I've been talking about them forever, I'm not going to waste any more of our time talking about them."

"So…"

"So…" Colin laughed.

"I met Robert."

Colin laughed again. "He told me."

"I don't think he likes me though." Lane told him quietly.

"Why do you say that?"

Lane shrugged then remembered Colin couldn't see her. "I probably made a bad impression, I came running up to the house like a lunatic, ignored him completely. I just focused on Rory."

"Trust me, Robert likes you just fine." Colin assured.

"How do you know?"

"He told me." Colin said slowly, trying not to laugh.

"He did?"

"Robert is hard to please, but he does respect certain aspects in a person. One of those aspects happens to be, when a friend is in trouble you drop everything to help them. He saw that when you went to Rory."

"She was hurt," Lane said.

"In our group of friends, Lane, you don't see that characteristic much. We're all good friends, same background, same lifestyle, but none of us could care less about the others personal issues."

"But you, Finn and Logan."

"Have a good time together." Colin said. "Yeah, Finn and I are close and yes, I'll help him through tough times, but Finn has his own friends to go to when he's in trouble with family issues, same with Logan and same with me."

"So…you're not best friends?"

"We are." Colin laughed. "It's hard to explain. With you and Rory it's easy and uncomplicated, you know that even after months of not seeing each other nothing will change between you two and you can go to her with anything. For us…it's different."

"How so?" Lane asked. "Explain it to me."

Colin sighed as he made his way up the gangplank; he set the mail on the table and looked around to find the saloon empty. "Logan, Finn and I all went to high school together and because of that we became the best of friends and because we go to the same college we stayed friends. Had we gone to different ones, I can't say if we would have stayed in touch."

"Really?"

Colin sighed again. "Like I said it's the circles we run in, months apart can change a lot in a person, like me, or Logan, or Finn. It changes a lot of the dynamic of how you interact and how you treat people."

"So what about us?"

"What about us?" Colin asked with a frown.

"We've been apart for months, are you going to change?"

Colin laughed. "It's different with other people. Robert and I went almost three years in our youth without seeing each other, and when we finally met up in boarding school again it was like I'd seen him a week before. With certain people things don't change. Robert and Isolde have been with me for everything and know my inner most secrets that not even Finn and Logan know."

"Inner most secrets that you'll share with me?" Lane asked.

"Eventually." Colin assured, "When the time is right, but I think it would be most appropriate to tell you when we're not limited to three am phone dates."

Lane laughed. "Very true."

"And don't worry about Finn and Rory, things will work out."

"With you as their mediator I'm sure of it."

"Good night Lane." Colin laughed.

"Have a good day Colin." Lane laughed back before they hung up the phone. Colin stood up from the couch stuffing his phone in his back pocket before sorting the mail. He left Logan's mail on the table, which consisted of three letters from his father and one from his sister. He grabbed his, which consisted of some CD's he'd ordered offline and the usual monthly check from his dad. He looked at the box, which was Finn's only mail; he raised an eyebrow when he saw the return address.

Grabbing the box he went downstairs and knocked on Finn's door, only to receive a groan as an answer, accepting that as an invitation in, he opened the door.

"You got a box." Colin said walking in and dumping the box at Finn's feet causing Finn to sit up and look at the box in question.

"Who from?"

"Rory."

"Is it a bomb?" Finn asked rubbing his face in agitation. "Or a bag of poo that's going to light on fire when I open it?"

Colin laughed. "If it is a bomb or a rigged flaming bag of crap, one, you would deserve it and two, I'd both impressed and curious to know how she convinced the post office to send it. Plus it's dated the day before you guys fought."

Finn closed his eyes and nodded. "She'd said she'd sent a box." He pulled the box closer as Colin turned to leave, only to look up when Colin turned back.

"Yes?" Finn asked.

"Rory's not avoiding you're phone calls Finn."

"What?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I mean, not to say she wouldn't, since obviously she hasn't called you, she is avoiding you to some degree."

"Colin!" Finn warned.

"Apparently she was pretty pissed after hanging up with you the other day that she threw her phone and it broke."

"How did you find out?" Finn asked.

"I've got people." Colin laughed before leaving the room.

Finn shook his head as he opened the box, looking inside he couldn't help but smile at its contents. Newly laundered undershirts folded neatly inside, and a clear bag of…he took the bag out and laughed, still fresh cookies. He took one out and bit down on a chocolate chip cookie, before standing and putting the cookies in the mini fridge he's installed under his desk. He took out the undershirts dumping them on the bed, before moving the box.

He was about to throw it near the door to throw away later when he felt something move and heard it hit the side of the box. Setting the box back down on the bed he looked back inside and noticed a black album with an envelope taped to it. Taking it out, he sat on the bed, pushing the box off, before opening the envelope and taking out the letter that was inside.

_Finn,_

_I wanted to do something to reciprocate your gestures, making the time to do movie nights(afternoons), sending me your shirts and souvenirs from your trip, anyway, since I wasn't going to send you my underwear, like I'm pretty sure you were hoping I was going to send, I thought this was a good alternative._

_(Go on open the album, after you get over your shock, come back and read the rest of the letter)_

Finn set the letter aside and opened the album, smiling slightly at the pictures that he was looking at, they were from the summer in Martha's Vineyard that Stephanie had insisted on taking during their last day.

After staring at one of Rory and himself playing in the ocean, with her on his shoulder laughing, he turned the page, his eyes widened and he was pretty sure his heart stopped for a full minute and his lungs seized before he was even able to regain actual thought and even then he wasn't able to steady his breath.

There in front of him was Rory sitting under the covers of her dorm room bed, the covers pulled up to her chest and held tightly, but even then he could see the tops of her breasts and her bare shoulders. The covers were arranged just so, that it allowed him to see peeks of her legs and her upper thighs peeking through. She was laughing at the camera shyly as if she wasn't too comfortable with the picture itself but she was comfortable around the person taking them.

"Holy…shit." He muttered between breaths. He flipped through the rest of the pictures that filled the album, all of them held the same theme. She wasn't completely naked; she was either in the bed under the covers or wearing lacy lingerie. The pictures weren't provocative either, no slutty poses that he knew some girls sent their boyfriends, if anything all the picture showed Rory innocence shining through, and that above all was sexy. It was as if she wasn't trying to show off her body, but show him the clothes.

"She's modeling for me." He muttered flipping through the pages, before picking up the letter again.

_So, did you figure it out? I figure that if we were actually dating in the same town and not across the world dating, we'd be talking about sex by now and whether or not it was something that would happen in the near future or in the far future. We'd both agree it would happen eventually, and you'd say something sweet and corny, like 'when you're ready, I'm ready' and I'd feel guilty about having to make you wait. So as a reward to you, I'd model the new lingerie I bought when out shopping with Stephanie and TOTALLY be a tease, because I really don't know any better, and you'd be so frustrated that you'd decided that we were definably going to have sex in the near future._

_How'd I do?_

"Nailed it." He muttered.

_Stephanie took the pictures, just if you were wondering and no one else has seen them, and I'd hope that it will continue like that. I've never actually done something like this, but I find that only for you would I take steps as bold as these and enjoy it. I want this to work Finn and I want you to know I'm committed to making this work. I want to be able to give you things in return; I don't want to be just a taker in this relationship._

_Take care, have fun rafting or whatever it is you boys actually have planned, and call me. I'd love to know what you think._

_XXOO_

_Rory._

_P.S. Those pictures are fodders for your imagination, please don't do anything dirty to them. Thank you._

Finn laughed at the last line running a hand through his hair before folding the letter and stuffing it in the album before reaching for his phone to dial Rory, only to wince when he remembered that not only did Rory break her phone, but she broke her phone because she was mad at him.

Stuffing the album under his mattress, making a mental note to find a better hiding place for it, he went to Colin's room, he knocked and after being told to come in he found Colin sitting on his bed with his laptop open, listening to music and strumming on his guitar.

"I'm an asshole." Finn said closing the door and sitting on Colin's bed.

"Yes, you are." Colin said looking at his computer screen before he looked at his fingers and moved them to position before strumming again. He nodded briefly before looking up at Finn. "But we knew this already, why are you telling me this?"

"I need to tell Rory this."

"Okay…" Colin said, grabbing his stereo remote and pausing the music.

"You know where Rory is."

Colin sat back on his bed and stared at Finn. "What gave you this idea?"

"You said so yourself, you have people. You either talked with Lane earlier or Robert, or both, and they both told you were Rory is, meaning you've talked to Rory, meaning you have the number where I can reach her."

"You're wrong."

"About knowing where she is."

"About me talking to her," Colin said with a sigh. "I don't think it's such a god idea for you talk to her Finn, I would rather you wait for her to call you."

"I need to talk to her Colin, I can't fix this if I wait for her to want to fix this."

Colin closed his eyes, and gave a bitter laugh, Lane was right he was doing a horrible job staying out of the situation. "Fine, but if anyone asks you figured out where she was on your own."

"Deal."

"Lane is going to kill me." Colin muttered grabbing his phone and dialing the Gilmore household before handing the phone to Finn.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Lorelai groaned and she reached for her clock and started at the bright red numbers that read four thirty am. With another groan she reached for the phone and brought it under the pillow with her as she answered.

"Who that hell are you and why are you calling here at four thirty in the morning?!" she asked.

"Sorry Lorelai, it's Finn, can I talk to Rory?"

Suddenly alert, Lorelai sat up in bed. "No, you cannot talk to Rory."

"Rory told you." Finn sighed.

"I overheard, she doesn't know I know."

"What I said, I said in anger." Finn explained slowly

"That is no excuse." Lorelai hissed. "You broke her, kid."

"How bad?"

Lorelai sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. "She's never fought with boyfriends, so she's not quite sure how to handle it, she's better now that she's talked to Lane, but she shouldn't have been upset in the first place."

"I know." Finn said quickly. "And I'm taking full responsibility for my actions, I jumped the gun, and even though I know it's no excuse, it was just a bunch of things that caused me to get angry and blame Rory for things that I know she would never do."

"Finn…" Lorelai sighed, she was angry at Finn, for sure, but she wasn't sure how far to take the berating, this was Rory's situation and while that had never stopped Lorelai from getting in the middle of things, Finn was definitely different then Dean and Jess and she wasn't sure how much she should say. "Rory's been in a good relationship and she's been in a bad relationship."

"Dean and Jess." Finn said.

Lorelai closed her eyes and restrained from saying more. "I don't want you to be another Jess, Finn."

"I…" Finn frowned not quite sure how to respond to that.

Lorelai sighed and got out of bed putting on her slippers, "I'll get Rory."

"Thank you." Finn said quietly.

Lorelai went down the stairs; bit her lip before going to Rory's room where she was finally sleeping comfortably after crying herself to sleep.

"Ror?" Lorelai whispered, causing Rory to groan. "Rory, the phone, it's for you."

"Whozit?" Rory muttered turning over, her eyes still closed.

"Rory, wake up."

Rory groaned again, but peeled her eyes open. "Mom?"

"The phone is for you."

Rory turned to look at the clock only to groan again. "It's a quarter to five, who the hell calls this early?"

"Your boyfriend."

Rory stared at her mom. "What?"

Lorelai handed her the phone before walking out of the room. Rory looked at the door as it closed before looking at the phone in shock.

"Hello?"

"I'm glad you didn't hang up." Finn said lowly, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut to keep from crying.

"It occurred to me, but I realized that would be a little immature."

"Rory, I'm sorry, I probably left you a million messages apologizing, and I'm an asshole."

"I know, I heard them and yeah, you really are."

"You heard my messages?"

"I heard the first fifteen, I deleted the rest," She admitted.

"Look, what I said…"

"You mean when you called me a whore?" Rory asked sarcastically.

Finn winced. "Yes that, I said it out of anger, not anger at you, just…"

"Anger, I think I got that."

"Rory," Finn sighed.

"I'm not going to make this easy on you Finn."

"And I didn't expect you to, I just…" Finn sighed in agitation.

"I would have thought thirty some hours would have given you time to formulate a better apology, Finn."

"You _really_ aren'_t_ making this easy are you?"

"What do you want me to say Finn?" Rory asked sitting up in bed. "That in reality what you said didn't affect me? That I forgive you and everything will go back to the way it was?"

"Yes!" Finn said.

Rory squeezed her eyes shut again and buried her face in her knees which she had brought up to her chest. She fisted her hands and swallowed the sob that was forming in her throat.

"Rory?"

Her breathing quickened and her teeth bit into her lip to keep from yelling.

"Rory, are you still there?" Finn asked quietly.

"Fine," she whispered.

"What?" Finn asked.

"Fine, I forgive you, I'm too tired to fight, we both had some time to think and it's just not worth the effort, everything is forgiven."

"Just like that?" Finn asked.

Rory shook her head biting her lip, before giving a nod. "Yep, just like that."

"Rory." Finn said quietly, not quite sure if Rory was serious or not.

"Its fine Finn, I mean it's not, but it is, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Finn said slowly.

"Okay, then," Rory said, falling back into bed and closing her eyes. "I should…"

"I got your box." Finn cut her off.

"Oh." Rory said unenthusiastically.

"I did love the pictures Rory."

"Good, I'm glad." She resisted the urge to tack on, 'hope they weren't too whoreish.' to the rest of that statement.

"Colin punched me."

"Did he?" Rory asked, running a hand through her hair and gripping the roots hard.

"After he found out what happened with us. He was pretty pissed, I had to go to the hospital, got to wear an eye patch, I'm sure I have pictures on my phone I can send you…I mean when you get a new phone and all."

"Yeah, funny."

"Rory, you're still mad." Finn sighed.

"No, I'm not," Rory said. "I'm just tired, it's five am here and I didn't get to sleep till late."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Mom kept you up?" he teased lightly.

"I cried myself to sleep Finn," Rory cursed herself as she heard Finn curse himself.

"Rory I am so sorr-"

"Just stop okay, I just… I need to sleep I'm tired."

"Okay, I'll um…I'll call you later."

"Sure," Rory whispered. "Bye Finn."

"Night Rory." Finn whispered, just before Rory hung up the phone. Rory carefully placed the phone on her nightstand and started at it for a few minutes longer, before grabbing it, she kicked off her covers and was about to go upstairs to her mom when she saw her mom sitting in the living room with the TV on.

"Hey, I couldn't get back to sleep so…Rory?" Lorelai asked looking at her daughter as Rory stared back.

"Mom?" Rory whispered with a frown.

"Yeah sweets?"

"I think I just lied to Finn."

Lorelai watched as her daughter crumbled and began to cry again. Standing quickly she went over and hugged her wrapping Rory up in the blanket and leading her to the couch, where Rory curled into her mother's side and continued to cry.

"Please, don't let him be another Jess," Lorelai mumbled into Rory's hair and rubbing her back.

_**XxxxxxX**_

Finn walked slowly back to Colin's room and found him still on the bed trying to teach himself a new song on the guitar, Colin looked up at the sound of the door.

"Hey, you were on the phone for a while, how'd it go?"

"She forgave me," Finn said slowly with a frown handing Colin his phone back before sitting on the bed.

"Hey! That's great."

"Colin," Finn said looking over at his friend. "I think she lied."

_**XxxxxxX**_

_**A.N.**_

FINALLY! This chapter has taken me forever to finish. In total this chapter is 72 pages and remember this is the second part of chapter 17, originally it was suppose to be one huge chapter that put together would have ended up being 115 pages and 36,593 words, had I kept that, it would have been a new record for me, one that Flynn would never let me forget. Let me tell you my sanity if forever grateful I spilt the chapters' lol.

This chapter happened more or less the way I had envisioned it give or take a few lines of dialogue. I'm going to answer some questions for you right now, that way I don't get them in reviews…or people get mad at me.

Yes, Robert is a key player in Tales as of right now (if you would like to know just how big of a part he plays just ask and I'll be happy to tell you) and NO, he will not come between Rory and Finn. As he told Colin, he really doesn't feel anything sexual for Rory.

For those of you a bit skeptical on how Rory, Robert and Isolde became easy friends. I refuse to believe you guys have never had a friend that you made and trusted just as easily. I know I have and it's the reason why I wrote it that way.

Robert and Colin are not and will not become lovers. I wrote them very close and as I was writing them I wondered if they came across as a little gay. The Colin/Robert/Isolde storyline actually does get explained later on in the story. I decided early on that I didn't want this to be solely about Finn and Rory…it is, of course, centered on them. But they have friends living their own lives. Colin's story line becomes very important later on. Just know that Colin and Robert do refer to one another as brother to other people and are very close. (Which you see in this chapter and others to come)

And with the Colin storyline does come the Stephanie/Isolde storyline. Which I will not explain, only privileged people know that, and I did make that vague for a reason.

Let's see, I can't think of anything else now. But if you have questions either ask me here in a review(if you do please log in so I can reply, it's pointless to ask me a question and not log in, and I'm not going to go searching for you on FF to find you. So please log in, or at least give me some idea of how to respond back to you)

I really want to give thanks to my Beta Emily, for putting up with my ever changing ideas, and for taking the time to actually go through edit my long ass chapters and still humors me and leave me notes lol. So thanks Ems.

Remember I've got a Twitter, PDLDRogan. I do talk about my stories on there, a lot of the time in great detail, and if you just want to see my randomness throughout the day as well as the stupid things that happen to me at school lol.

And of course the gallery on my website will be updated right after this is posted. So go check out pics!

Okay that's it for me. I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter should be half as long, and hopefully up soon seeing as I've been dying to write it since I thought of it lol.

Kassandra


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